Tano Cruz is an important person in the 2022 Mexican Tennis Open, who is in charge of making various areas work, but above all he is the one who ‘allows’ the whims of the tennis players.
But his story did not begin here, but several years ago when he was playing tennis, to later start his career as a technical director and thus reaching the Acapulco tournament, joining the success that this Open has had.
How did Tano Cruz start in tennis?
Tano had a past as a tennis player before entering the organization of events and technical direction of the Mexican Federation of this sport.
“I played tennis, I played up to the challenger level, I tried to survive from tennis, which is very difficult, From there I started in the organizations, with Luis Baraldi, I had a promoter and I didn’t have anyone to do his tournaments for him, so that’s where he hired me and I started to develop,” Tano told the hobby.
Before coming to work with Mextenis, Tano was the technical director of the Federation, where they were invited to be part of the then new Mexico City Open, It was thus that he began his work within this tournament but with the body that governs the sport.
“From the beginning of this tournament I was the technical director of the Mexican Tennis Federation, at the time of Jesús Topete, and we had done many Davis Cup tournaments and an Open had always been thought of in those years (the 90’s); when the opportunity to do this tournament is given, they give us the task of starting to work in the organization taking only the line judges and ball boys, little by little we went deeper, studying, we received recognition from the International Federation as international referees and they gave us more work and updates in terms of regulations , organization, what tournaments really wanted.”
After several years of being with the Mexican Tennis Federation his cycle ended and he decided to thank the agency for creating his own event organization company together with his family (wife and daughters). But since it was his own business, he assured that he should know a little about everything.
“To be able to be here, you must have gone through all the fields, I know how to pick up balls, I know how to referee on the line, I am a tournament supervisor, I know how to wash the court, string the rackets”
What is a technical director in tennis?
Technical director is a common word that is heard in sports and although we might think that it is a coach, It is not like that in tennis, since it has another meaning.
“The role of technical director in tennis is anyone who knows the rules and who applies them in junior, professional men’s and women’s tournaments; for that you have to study, train. The technical director is the one who knows how to run a tournament, you must know about organization, logistics, planning, even finances because you make the budgets in the Federation”.
But in the case of the Mexican Tennis Open, the role of the technical director is different, because it is to cover the needs of the tennis player, in addition to seeing everything that is required within the courts.
“When you become the technical director of an event like these, it’s different, because you already focus on the technical part, on the technical operation, It’s everything you see on the pitch, everything the players need, everything around the players so that they are comfortable and can play without problems”.
His company called AMCJ International Promotions and Events has been like the “adopted son of Mextenis”, with whom they have been working for more than a decade; However, his first event was not the Open, but “a bicycle race in San Luis Potosí”.
The success of their company is due to their work, which has made “other countries call them (Spain, China, Bosnia) and that has been very important.” Although in their company they can organize any type of event, from beach volleyball, soccer tournaments for children, congresses, etc.: “We don’t just do tennis, if you want me to do a christening, we do.”
What does your company AMCJ stand for?
The name of his company are the initials of the partners: Albertano, Margarita, Cynthia and Jessica, who are his wife and daughters, “between the four of us we all do, I don’t pay, Rita pays, I don’t teach, my daughter is the one who teaches and the one who makes the contracts is my other daughter, who is a lawyer”.
Graduated in philosophy and letters, also an expert in putting nails
Tano Cruz has a degree in philosophy and letters from the National Autonomous University of Mexico, but she is an ‘everyone’, since she has taken a makeup course, “I know how to do your nails, cook, if one day I have a bad time in tennis, I set up a beauty salon”.
MGC