The new residence of the WTA in Mexico is ready to open its doors. This is the San Luis Open WTA 125, whose direction is led by the experienced organizers of tennis events Gustavo Santoscoy (also director of the WTA tournaments in Guadalajara and Mérida) and Carlos Saiz (director of the ATP Challenger in San Luis since 2017).
With these characters at the helm and an investment of more than 300,000 dollars, San Luis Potosí aspires to become a permanent place on the WTA Tour, the most important women’s tennis circuit in the world, but to do so, it must pass its first test: convince the WTA executives, the players and the fans that it has all the necessary infrastructure and amenities.
“We do not have a multi-year contract with the WTA, we want to open cities as was the case with Merida (with the 250 Open that debuted in February) and now with San Luis Potosí. We have this first year of testing, to see if it works or not, to see how the players feel and if the logistics were carried out correctly and then take action on the matter and do it for many years. There are many things before seeing how many years you leave a tournament in a city or country for, ”explains Gustavo Santoscoy, director of the WTA 125 in San Luis, in an interview with El Economista.
Santoscoy was key in the consummation of a WTA tournament in San Luis, a project that Carlos Saiz had been discussing for three years with the backing of the ATP Challenger that has been held for 69 editions in that territory and leaving economic benefits of between 40 and 50 million pesos.
With his experience as director of women’s tennis tournaments, starting precisely with a WTA 125 in Guadalajara in 2019 until reaching a Masters 1000 and some Finals in less than five years, Santoscoy emphasizes that the care of every detail in the organization is what it opens the confidence of the WTA and the continuity of a venue, which later becomes an economic return.
“A tournament can mature in a period of between 5 and 7 years, not before. They are strong investments, they are bets from sponsors and governments, and when I talk about tournaments these are projects for years. This is not something in which from one day to the next we fill hotels, restaurants or flow like a great business for everyone”.
According to Carlos Saiz, who works as a joint promoter of the WTA San Luis, operating expenses for this edition are around 300,000 dollars, which will be recovered 50% thanks to the box office and the remaining 50% with sponsors, who also will cover the total purse of $115,000. The tournament has 10 sponsors, including brands such as amstel ultra, Coca Cola and poweradeas well as two local companies: Grupo Acerero and Nissan Torres Corzo.
“The tournament can be profitable more than anything for the state and the city, but we as promoters know that when we start to do these tournaments we have to invest in the first few years to open the field, but we are sure that within 3 or 4 years will be 100% profitable”, details Saiz, who belongs to a family of entrepreneurs in the automotive industry with more than 20 years of experience.
The estimated economic spill for the WTA of San Luis is between 50 and 70 million pesos, which could almost double the amount of the ATP Challenger that also takes place at Club Deportivo Potosino (40 million). “I would dare to say that this event will be one of those that will generate the greatest spillover in the state (San Luis Potosí) during the year; Most of the income goes to the tourism sector, part of the bag also has both a state and federal tax, so it really is very profitable for these institutions and especially for the state”, mentioned the promoter and automotive businessman.
Saiz also confirmed to this newspaper that, together, the state and municipal governments (from the capital, San Luis Potosí) injected more than one million pesos for infrastructure remodeling for the tournament, including adjustments to Club Deportivo Potosino.
“We do have investment from the state government and also from the city council. The spillover of these events is incalculable, we are expecting many visitors from abroad and they are events that put San Luis Potosí on the world map. The government supports us a lot with infrastructure and they give us an amount that goes directly to operating expenses. By infrastructure, I mean everything that is required in terms of airports, hotels and transportation”.
The first edition of WTA St. Louis will take place from March 27 to April 2 and will have 22 players among the 130 best ranked in the world, such as the Romanian Jaqueline Cristian (ranking 65), the French Alize Cornet (66) and the Swiss Viktorija Golubic (93), in addition to the wildcard invitation for four Mexicans: Fernanda Contreras, Marcela Zacarías, Renata Zarazúa and Fernanda Navarro.
The expectation of influx is between 12,000 and 13,000 people at the end of the week, a period in which the organizers must cover the expenses of 600 nights of hotel rooms, more than 300 daily meals, the transportation of 80 players and everything that happens on a day-to-day basis in terms of facilities, referees, judges and boleros.
gustavo santoscoy He pointed out that his family continues to analyze possibilities of venues to try to receive other WTA tournaments thanks to the trust they have earned in the last five years, for which he envisions that Mexico will continue to be one of the favorite destinations for women’s tennis with more high level.
“The WTA is fully open, it knows that Latin America is opening up through Mexico, it knows that in Mexico there is the potential of fans and the interest of cities to make sport a form of tourism. This is what we are doing, talking to the Tour, telling them that Mexico has great potential, it can not only have 4 or 5 WTA tournaments, it can have 10, so we will continue to widen the range and work so that in each place where they require a tournament can be held.”
