Photography: Carolina Echagüe M.
The greatest tennis players in the country have passed through its courts, starting with Marcelo Ríos, followed by Massú and González in their beginnings in the sport. And many others have also been trained, such as the famous Penquista, Adrián García, who shared with them in one of the golden eras of the discipline.
As one of the oldest clubs in Chile and South America, the Concepción Tennis Club has witnessed the history of white sport in national territory, and under that status this month it is celebrating its 118 years of existence.
Pedro Sandoval, its president, highlights that trajectory that makes the institution great and that, in his words, continues to project it to be a protagonist of the activity for many years to come. “The most important milestones in the history of our club have to do with its foundation and the path it has marked in the development of sport in Greater Concepción,” he begins by saying.
“Hand in hand with the training of tennis players, in more than 100 years the club has been a breeding ground for great athletes and our institution has always been recognized as the cradle of very good players. Our seniority means a tremendous responsibility, because we know that we must promote the sports development of our Region. The Municipality of Concepción has historically entrusted the administration of the land that we occupy today, and we know that we are already the city’s heritage,” he adds.
Catching up
With tournaments in various categories, including international ones, the Concepción Tennis Club has been increasing the action on its courts. Proof of them was this 2024, which in Pedro Sandoval’s opinion, was fruitful in several aspects.
“This season is very challenging for us, as a club and as a board. We have had the possibility of developing important tournaments, such as the ITF Senior where we hope to advance in category, a Cosat and a regional minor tournament. All this added to our participation in the Categories Tour where, this week, the Master is taking place. The above is always possible thanks to the commitment of our human team, mainly our secretaries and cancheros,” emphasizes the leader, who has already outlined the challenges that lie ahead.
“In the short term, the challenge is constant improvement. Day by day we try to improve the club’s facilities so that our members and collaborators have a better place to enjoy the sport they love and work, respectively. In the medium term, our commitment is to our members, to develop sports competitions and create spaces where they can improve their level. Also with the development of tennis at its different levels, we know that the way to have more tennis players competing at 10, 12 or 14 years old is to incorporate more children learning this beautiful sport,” he says.
“In the long term, development has to do with infrastructure, our facilities are more than 50 years old and for a long time we have not done renovations or cared for this institution as it deserves,” he adds.
In that sense, Sandoval also highlighted the training work of the institution, one of the greatest interests they aim for. “Within our club there is an academy run by the coach, Juan Pablo Aguilera, who has a certified team of professionals to teach the discipline. We also have various teachers who do private classes at different levels,” he details.
“Competing very well in the club today we have minors like Renata Guevara, Millaray Roa, Valentina Beltrán and Sofía Villagrán. In men, children like Luciano Henríquez and Mateo Vera appear with great enthusiasm, while Cristobal Álvarez, Martin Bustos and Matías Erices represent the club in a great way, the latter with extraordinary results on a recent tour to Paraguay,” he says.