- The Mérida Open Akron will take place Feb. 18 to 26 at the Yucatán Country Club, in a main stadium with a 3,500-spectator capacity and two additional courts accomodating 1,500 people each.
- Organizer Mexique Eventos invested 100 million pesos to make the event a reality.
Organizing the event and promising “an unforgettable experience” is company Mexique Eventos. According to company CEO Tonatiuh Bravo, an investment of 100 million Mexican pesos (around US$5.35 million) was made in bringing the event to the country club’s main stadium, with capacity for 3,500 spectators, and two additional fields, for 1,500 people each. This year’s tournament will be the first edition of the contest in the state and will remain as a permanent WTA 250 tournament.
The tournament will be played on a hard court surface, with a draw of 32 players in singles and 16 couples in doubles; the event boasts the highest main draw list cut in the history of the WTA 250 tournaments in Mexico. The list of participating players will close at rung 88; that is, all players are in the Top 100 of the WTA classification — something never before registered in an event of this category in Mexico.
With a purse of US$250,000 in prize money and estimated economic benefit to Mérida of approximately 300 million pesos (US$16 million), the event features a distinguished participant list headed by U.S. player Sloane Stephens, Poland’s Magda Linette and Argentina’s Nadia Podoroska. Other standout names include Czech players Katerina Siniakova (ranked 46) and Tereza Martincova (74), American Alison Riske-Amritraj, Italy’s Lucia Bronzetti (52), Ukrainian player Marta Kostyuk (61), Germany’s Jule Niemeier (69) and Spain’s Nuria Parrizas Díaz (75) — ensuring an event of a very high professional caliber.
“Mérida was pleased with the possibility of bringing a top-level sports show,” said Mexique Eventos’ Bravo. “Support has been given at all levels, and we are sure that the public will respond and will not miss the opportunity to see talented players willing to give their best on the pitch.”
The announcement of this tournament to be held in Mérida, places Mexico as one of 10 countries in the world that have more than three tournaments on the WTA calendar, placing itself on a par with Australia, Germany, Italy and Great Britain.
Thanks to its geographical location, its excellent weather and its connectivity, Mérida has hosted numerous sports events, most recently Merida’s Marathon in honor of the founding of the city, Merida’s Triathlon, Classic Cars Rally Maya, and the Yucatan Tennis Cup.
There are also many competition and exhibition events that are rooting in the region such as F4 NACAM Championship, Regattas, MZ Cycling Tour, II FISU American Games and the Yucatan Exhibition World Paddle Tour among others.
Media contact:
Gustavo Rivas-Solis
Gustavo@enroutecommunications.com
