The third annual Rio Open, which was held from Feb. 15-21 at the city's Jockey Club Brasileiro, marked the most commercially successful edition of the tournament. Sponsorship of the event, the only combined ATP World Tour 500 and WTA Int'l event in South America, has increased 43% since the inaugural Rio Open in '14. Of the top 11 men's players in the world, four -- Rafael Nadal, David Ferrer, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and John Isner -- were in action in Rio. This year's partner portfolio featured 10 new partners in a list that included the likes of Emirates, Rolex, Peugeot, Asics and Pirelli, among others. Tickets for the Rio Open were sold for 11 sessions -- two each from Monday through Thursday, and one per day on the final three days of the tournament. Matches were played in front of sold out crowds for six sessions: the night sessions on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, and the daily sessions on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. IMG Tennis Head Fernando Soler and Rio Open Tournament Dir Luiz Carvalho spoke to SBD Global about the appeal of the event, plans for future editions and the rising popularity of tennis in Brazil.
On the appeal of the Rio Open ...
Fernando Soler: The event has managed, from the first day, to become not only a very, very fine sporting event, but a social event in the city of Rio de Janeiro. Everybody likes to go there. It's in the best tennis club in the city. Everybody likes to go there to see people and to be seen. It's a social event on top of a very fine sporting event. ... That was the idea from the first day.
On the "Corcovado Club" VIP lounge ...
Soler: We created a very, very cool VIP area where the sponsors are very, very keen on inviting their guests, because they make them feel special. It's called the Corcovado Club, which this year expanded in size (by 15%). When we have companies like Rolex or Emirates or Itaú or Claro, it has become a very, very special place.
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| Fernando Soler |
Luiz Carvalho: We invested really heavily in the VIP area. The Corcovado Club being the VIP area for 1,000 guests daily, it was also revamped. We used first-class furniture from a sponsor of ours, Breton. Inside this area, there is a lot of business that is done during the week. Tennis events drive a lot of business and clients doing business among themselves.
On lighting the Christ the Redeemer statue in the colors of the Uruguayan flag to honor men's winner Pablo Cuevas ...
Carvalho: It's pretty huge. Being one of the seven wonders of the modern world, to do that, to light up in Uruguayan colors, I'm sure it was amazing for Pablo Cuevas to see. For us it was like a dream come true. This is the sort of thing that we want to make sure that we keep pushing for these exhibitions. ... We really want to make sure that we reach out to more than just tennis fans, that we reach out to sporting fans. People who actually don't follow tennis either, they recognize the brand and they recognize the importance of the event for the country.
On potentially moving the Rio Open to the facility being built for the 2016 Olympics ...
Soler: We are very comfortable where we are. We are in probably the best tennis club in Brazil. We think it provides the coolness and the glamor that the event requires. Having said that, the job that the Brazilian Olympic Committee did with the tennis facility is very impressive. We're going to have conversations, we're going to talk about it. The Olympic facility is on hard courts, and we are on clay courts. So that's something we will need to discuss with the tours, to see if that could be possible in case we would like to move there.
On pushing to become a Masters 1000 tournament ...
Carvalho: We have been doing our homework for three years in order to get to that level. We are putting on a world-class event on a yearly basis. We're getting very good feedback from the ATP and the WTA, which is the first step to make sure that we are going to achieve 1000 status. Right now we have a very good setup in the Jockey Club, with nine tennis courts, which would be good enough to host a 1000 event. So we know that the setup is very good, and that we could do that. I think that the biggest challenge to host a 1000 event, obviously we would need great support from the city and the government, which we feel that we already have, and also be able to attract more sponsors. The level of investment for a 1000 event is a lot higher than a 500. ... We just want to have an opportunity with the ATP so they see us as a potential host for a 1000 event, given that there never has been a 1000 event in South America. Tennis in South America is growing, it is booming. We have a rich tennis history here, not only in Brazil, but in Argentina, and now Uruguay and Chile, many top players. So I think it's only fair that the ATP looks at us as a possible host.
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