A bigger stadium, new cameras and technological advances: the secrets of the 2023 Chile Open, the only ATP 250 in the country

This February 27 begins the Movistar Chile Open, the only ATP 250 in the country and which will bring together important figures in world tennis, such as the Austrian Dominic Thiem, former US Open champion and world number three in 2020, Italian Lorenzo Musetti, current number 18; Argentinian Diego Schwartzman, former top 10; and Christian Garin, winner in 2021.

“It was the draw that ended with the best ranking. There is a variety between rankings and ages; well-known personalities and others who are looking for points. We compare Peque Schwartzman, who has a history, to Musetti, who excelled in a short time.” says Catalina Fillol, the director of the competition.

And points: “This is our first year as normal. 2020 has been a year with the tail of the social outbreak and it was our first year, we had two or three months to prepare for the event. 2021 was without an audience and last year it was with a limited audience, which cost us the most. We had a restricted way of delivering food to people, nor could we play music to avoid crowds. So this year is going to be fun for us as it becomes a return to normal.”

In that sense, convincing the numbers was not such a complex matter. “The truth is that we had spoken in September. Themselves expressed their interest in coming. For example, Musetti contacted us because he wanted to come on the South American tour; he wanted to play on clay and had never come. They were easy conversations and I think our tournament is gaining in strength, in history and we talk about it among the players. We are in competition with two 500s like Acapulco and Dubai and we still have a good frame,” he underlines.

Another complexity is the delivery of invitations to the main draw, since no Chilean tennis player enters directly and there are only two available (one from the organization and another from Octagon, the company that owns the date). The closest is Alejandro Tabilo. However, Garin, Nicolás Jarry and Tomás Barrios are further away, while Dominic Thiem has already secured the first joker. “We were pleasantly surprised that the draw closed very high, which left Thiem and the Chileans out. That’s a nice issue. Now comes a second conversation about how these are distributed jokers . You had to have Thiem for the benefit of the show and because people wanted to see him,” says the tournament director.

Another novelty concerns the capacity, which until the last edition was 3,000 spectators. This year, that changes dramatically. “We wanted to make a bigger stadium, with five thousand people. It’s a pretty number, and it makes everything bigger. This also involved moving around inside the enclosure, since we grew in size in the commercial area, in the village, because we have to give them a rich place so that these five thousand people can to entertain. This has led to changes on pitches 1 and 2. On pitch 1 we have put more stands and this allows us to spread out the matches. Normally we do four center singles matches, but this year we’ll send a center double and a one-to-one single.”

Capacity expansion is tied to a long-sought goal: upgrading. “Indeed, you need to have a stadium of five thousand people to become an ATP 500, even if the stadium on the court must be a bit big. However, we want to show that Chile is capable of receiving an ATP 500, we want to aspire to it. If we can’t do that, we want to at least be a very strong 250 that matches a 500 in terms of audience, frame and technology.” said Fillol.

Faced with the possibility of taking the step of 500, the highest authority comments that “Last year applications were sent out to do this improve , now the ATP sees the projection. There will be movements in the calendar for 2024. “We are doing everything to achieve this, but it is in the hands of the ATP”, he assures.

As for technological advancements, the main court will feature LED panels all around, while progress was made in the development of the surface two months ago under the supervision of Martín Rodríguez.

There will also be a new experience for tennis players and the public. “This year We are going to replicate the 360 ​​cameras, which is a tiny camera that will be in three specific points. You put on headsets and you can watch the game as if you were on the pitch. The entire match is seen and the player can watch it from different angles. The idea is that people can also see it on the Movistar stand”, he specifies. And adds: “On the other hand, the ATP brings in other cameras to see the stats of where the ball is falling and how the player is moving. So there are six other cameras to measure the movement of the ball, the player, the distance traveled, etc. It is a work in collaboration with them”.

Likewise, it is committed to an experience that satisfies the public that frequents San Carlos de Apoquindo. “He layout It is people-oriented and the experience is good, minimizing long queues to wait for food and the sponsors really go out of their way to make activations fun. Tuesday will be a special day for women, kicking off Women’s Week. There will be giveaways, yoga classes, a lifestyle fashion show, which is yoga and wellness clothing; and music,” says Fillol.

Finally, the daughter of Jaime Fillol does not hide her satisfaction at being one of the few directors of ATP tournaments on the circuit. “There are 64 dates on the calendar. Since last year, we were five women, two from the United States and the rest from Europe. I am proud to say that with this confidence in my knowledge of what I learned with my father and with the SACS team; to be sure that what is done is done well,” she concludes.

Pre-sale ticket prices fluctuate between $31,560 and $74,520 and can be purchased through the system PointTicket.