The organizers of the Claro Colombia Open have warned that the tournament could be coming to an end due to financial difficulties.
In a press released uploaded to their official website, they stated that the tournament’s management are struggling to generate the 8.5 M pesos needed to fund the event. It is understood that they have failed to secure the investment due to the financial situation in Colombia, which has lead to a downturn in private and public investment. Due to the economic slowdown in the country, there has been a 3% – 6% salary drop for middle class professionals in Colombia.
The tournament has been a regular feature on the ATP tour since 2013. In the first edition Ivo Karlovic claimed the title followed by Bernard Tomic winning back-to-back titles in 2014 and 2015. The Claro Open is the only tournament where Tomic has successfully defended a title on the ATP Tour. Director of the event, Manuel Mate, spoke about the dilemma facing the South American event
“The new generations need these kind of tournaments and improve the competitiveness of tennis in Colombia. If we fail to get the 8,500 million pesos needed for the tournament by current or new sponsors, the only ATP 250 played in Colombia will have to go to another country”. He said.
The 2015 Claro Open created 4000 direct and indirect jobs for the Colombian economy. The tournament received 1100 hours of broadcast across 50 countries, according to figures.
The tournament could be moved to Mexico, according to the press release. Mexico already has one men’s tournament on the tour, the Abierto Mexicano, which has been hosted annually since 2000.
