The decision of the International Tennis Federation (ITF) to exclude from its tournaments the national teams of Russia and Belarus While the war in Ukraine continues, it has a collateral effect for Mexico, which was going to host a series against the Belarusians for the Davis Cup at Deportivo Chapultepec on March 4 and 5.
With the expulsion of their rival, the Mexican team automatically advanced (walkover) to World Group I of the tournament for the first time since 1997 and thereby not only improved its sporting record, but also economically, since the ITF will give him four times more income than he received for being in World Group II, a step lower in the hierarchy, Javier Rincón Gallardo, director of Davis Cup Mexico.
“Economically speaking, it is a big difference than being in Group II. The income quotas have not yet been set, there will still be a draw in April and the exact amount will be set there, everything that each of the teams will win, but I can say that it is four times what was winning”.
These revenues serve to pay for the participation of the players but also to support some organizational issues, unlike what had to be spent for the duel against Belarus, which was finally canceled: “Being in the World Group would mean everything for tennis Mexican, with economic benefits, the amount of money from the support that is given to the countries is a difference from heaven to earth”, mentions Rincón Gallardo.
According to the director, the organization for the series that was going to be played on March 4 and 5 had an estimated cost of one million pesos for issues such as hotels, food or the purchase of balls. Due to the rush to get everything ready (they were notified to receive the event three weeks in advance), they were also unable to secure strong sponsorships and the spread of ticket sales was limited.
“Of that million that you were going to collect before with tickets or sponsorships, now you have to return the money from the sponsors, so there will be a loss (…) There were no big sponsors, most were from exchanges for uniforms or meals, they were going to have an income from the sale of food inside the stadium and as compensation they were going to give us the service. There was really no income from large sponsorships, the only ones that were there are those who are already sponsors of the Mexican Tennis Federation (FMT)such as Dulop and Electrolit”.
Before the event was cancelled, Javier Rincón pointed out that of that million pesos in expenses for the series against Belarus about 20% would be paid by the ITF. After the cancellation, the FMT will deliver a cut with the total investment to the ITF to see what that international organization can support them with and that the amount is not absorbed 100% by Mexico.
“The FMT went very badly (with the cancellation against Belarus), it is something that has to be discussed with the ITF because it was not our fault, we incurred some expenses that now we have to prove and clarify them to the ITF. ITF”. Only in hotels, the FMT had reserved a minimum of 30 rooms for the delegations of Mexico and Belarus, with a preferential rate of 1,500 pesos, which would amount to 45,000 pesos per night.
As for ticketing, the series against Belarus had already managed to sell “about 50%” of its seats, mentions the director of Davis Cup Mexico. Although Deportivo Chapultepec can fit 2,000 people on the field Raphael Osuna, only 1,600 seats had been put up for sale at an average price of 1,000 pesos. Now they are seeing how to return the money together with Ticket Master, which was their sales platform.
This was going to be the first time that the Davis Cup was played in Mexico City after 10 years, but after the cancellation it is not certain that the next series, which will be played in September (corresponding to World Group I), will be in national territory, since it depends on an ITF draw in April in which the Mexican team will meet its rival. In addition, knowing the opponent, the Tricolor captain and players decide in which city and conditions they can obtain the most advantage, such as against Belarus, who chose Deportivo Chapultepec for the height and the clay.
“Getting sponsorships from large companies three weeks in advance is almost impossible, I am almost sure that if you ask me if the Federation is going to lose, then we are going to come out almost flat and maybe something is lost, but what is going to be gained with the tennis and what is happening in Mexico is incredible”, Rincón Gallardo had said in an interview with El Economista prior to the cancellation of the series. For this reason, now, he visualizes that if Mexico wins the locality for the next series in September, they have room to better exploit it commercially.
“If we play in Mexico, it will be a great event, we will have six months to prepare it, it would be a success to go against a team from the World Group, of which everyone knows their players, that will automatically generate income in sponsorships and throughout. Being able to exploit it would be much easier than what we could have done right now in three weeks that we received the Davis Cup by rebound and that in the end it was cancelled”.
The Mexicans who had been selected for the series against Belarus are Alex Hernández, Gerardo López Villaseñor, Luis Patiño, Miguel Ángel Reyes Varela and Hans Hach, with Hach being the best positioned in the world as he is ranked 90th in the ATP in doubles.
For Rincón Gallardo, the continuity of Mexico in the Davis Cup together with all the international tournaments that are played in national territory is generating “a boom” that attracts new generations. He mentions that this year alone, 50 veteran tournaments and another 50 ITF tournaments at the youth level are already planned in cities such as Cancun and Guadalajara, for which “the ITF itself has recognized that Mexico is one of the most active countries after the pandemic. , that is worth more than anything and there yes locally, for each tournament, there is a spill that will benefit tennis. In that sense, the Davis Cup is an investment in tennis in Mexico”.
