ATP Masters 1000 event in Saudi Arabia<\/a> puts further pressure on the continent\u2019s standing. The new tournament, which will begin as early 2028 with a 56-player draw, will be non-mandatory, and its place in the calendar and its venue are yet to be confirmed.<\/p>\nIn a briefing Thursday, ATP chairman Andrea Gaudenzi suggested that if played in February, the event could lead to two swings, one in South America and one in the Middle East, but the new Saudi tournament, with its 1,000-level status, would be the biggest and the primary draw for top players. Earlier, a spokesperson for the ATP Tour said that the process of organizing the event \u201cwill include extensive consultation with our members, alongside discussions around calendar optimisation. The goal is to ensure the most balanced and sustainable global calendar possible, in line with the Tour\u2019s long-term vision.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sources with knowledge of the calendar negotiations for that event, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly, said that the tournament is set to require a reshuffling of the South American events in that month, because the owners of the ATP 500 events in Doha, Qatar and Dubai, United Arab Emirates, do not wish to relinquish their licenses. The new 1,000-level event will offer far more ranking points and prize money than what\u2019s on offer in Buenos Aires and Rio de Janeiro, as well as having geographical and surface continuity from the events in Doha and Abu Dhabi, making it more attractive to players.<\/p>\n
The South American swing is played on clay, while the tournaments in Doha and Abu Dhabi are played on hard courts. Top players, some of whom have complained about the calendar\u2019s jumps back and forth across time zones and surfaces, could now stay on one surface in one region rather than switching courts and continents.<\/p>\n
Gaudenzi suggested that there could be a switch from clay to hard in South America. Schwartzman has concerns about the possible changes.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you go to Rio you see how Fonseca is moving tennis, and it is not just to go and see Fonseca. You know how many kids are playing because of Fonseca now? Or how many kids are playing because (Sebasti\u00e1n) B\u00e1ez or Cer\u00fandolo, or anyone else who is winning matches. Or in Chile you have (Alejandro) Tabilo, Jarry, (Cristian) Gar\u00edn. I think the ATP the last few years is not taking care of South America, that\u2019s for sure. That\u2019s just the opinion that I 100-percent have. And it\u2019s not good because we are not just part of the history, we are part of it right now \u2014 in the present,\u201d Schwartzman said.<\/p>\n
Schwartzman, 32, realized at last year\u2019s French Open that he was done as a player, having achieved more than he or anyone had thought possible. At five feet seven inches (170 cm) tall, he was always something of an underdog, relying on a potent forehand and \u201ctechnique, gym and leg movements\u201d to stay with players much more physically suited to the sport.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think being a shorter player helped me,\u201d he said of his popularity with fans and those who follow the sport. \u201cThey saw me on court against these two-metres guys. And sometimes I was like a showman and that\u2019s always helping the fans to be more happy during the matches.\u201d<\/p>\n
Like a David and Goliath situation? \u201cSomething like that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Schwartzman\u2019s family history is defined by overcoming adversity. Born to a Jewish family, his Polish maternal great-grandfather was put on a train to a concentration camp in the 1940s but managed to escape. He took a boat to Argentina, speaking Yiddish but no Spanish, and built a family there; his father\u2019s family came to South America from Russia.<\/p>\n
As a child, Schwartzman showed signs of promise on the tennis court at Club N\u00e1utico Hacoaj, a Jewish sports club in Buenos Aires. But his family lost their livelihood when his father Ricardo\u2019s business collapsed during the Argentinian economic crash at the turn of the century. His family began making and selling jewelry to try and earn the money needed to fund Schwartzman\u2019s progress, selling bracelets at tournaments he was playing in. They could not afford to give him a Bar Mitzvah when he turned 13.<\/p>\n
Schwartzman said he wasn\u2019t quite aware of how dire the situation was, but \u201cat some point, I think I realized,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Argentina has the fifth-biggest Jewish population of any country outside Israel, and Schwartzman is still practicing. There aren\u2019t many elite Jewish athletes, and he is happy to be an inspiration to others.<\/p>\n
Schwartzman\u2019s breakthrough came in 2017, when he reached the U.S. Open quarterfinals. The following year, he reached the same stage at the French Open, before nearly doing the unthinkable in beating Rafael Nadal there. Schwartzman played breathtakingly well to lead the then 10-time champion by a set and a break, before the rain came and gave Nadal the chance to reset before winning the following day. Schwartzman did earn a win on clay over Nadal, beating him in straight sets at the Italian Open five years ago.<\/p>\n
Schwartzman said the period that began in 2017 was \u201cvery important\u201d in proving himself to his peers, who then \u201cstarted to respect me a lot \u2014 more than I thought I maybe deserved. I think for a few years the guys didn\u2019t want to play against me.\u201d In 2017, he led Novak Djokovic by two sets to one in the third round of Roland Garros.<\/p>\n
Schwartzman reached the U.S. Open quarterfinals again in 2019, where the eventual champion Nadal again stopped him in his tracks \u2014 Nadal and Djokovic beat him in the second week of a Grand Slam seven times, and Nadal was in the way once more when Schwartzman reached his only Grand Slam semifinal at Roland Garros in 2020.<\/p>\n
Now living in Buenos Aires, he is still involved in tennis, working in the player relations team for Tennis Australia. Schwartzman fears that the way the sport is structured is holding back players from South America.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s just about giving an opportunity to a part of the world that really needs it. Without that, tennis is just going to disappear there.\u201d he said. \u201cAnd that\u2019s why I think it does not make sense. Now because I have more time, I like to have these kind of conversations with everyone \u2014 at least to know why they make these decisions.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think in the next 10 or 15 years, tennis is going to change, not just because tournaments are changing. The Saudis are coming with a new tournament and many things are going to change about the sport. I want to be part of that and being there, listening, watching and trying to help tennis around the world, obviously in South America.\u201d<\/p>\n
Schwartzman attributes the focus on other parts of the world ahead of South America down to an institutional mindset that \u201cmore money means better conditions,\u201d Schwartzman said. \u201cAnd obviously in South America you are not going to find more money.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Tennis-South-America-Tournaments-scaled.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\n The wave of support behind rising star Jo\u00e3o Fonseca has put the microscope back on South America\u2019s place in elite tennis. (Marcello Endelli \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n
Other elite players have spoken in support of expanding professional tennis\u2019 presence in South America.<\/p>\n
In February last year, three-time Grand Slam champion and former world No. 1 Andy Murray posted on X: \u201cSouth America should have its own dedicated swing on the tennis tour with its own masters series. The way the fans support the tournaments there is incredible. Amazing atmospheres and\u00a0is clearly part of their sporting culture. Vamos @atptour!\u201d<\/p>\n
Schwartzman believes that the financial and emotional investment in the rising talent of Fonseca is testament to how much attention can grow the sport.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn Buenos Aires it was crazy about him,\u201d he said. \u201cSo many Brazilians going to the stadium to watch him. And many Argentinians already watch him on court. Rio was crazy. South America after del Potro, we didn\u2019t have a huge guy, and now there\u2019s one from Brazil, the biggest country in South America.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo imagine if Fonseca can do well in the future. It is going to be huge. He\u2019s a very good young guy. He\u2019s a good person. Good team around him so I hope he is going to do well.\u201d<\/p>\n
Schwartzman practiced with Fonseca ahead of losing to another prodigious talent, Carlos Alcaraz, in the Rio final of 2022. \u201cJo\u00e3o was special for sure, hitting the ball clean. He had a lot of power. But he had no idea how to control that power and every ball was going out. But the hitting was not normal for a 15 year old.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nor is the atmosphere that he generates at his matches, with Brazilians following him in droves. It started this year at the Australian Open, where he reached the third round \u2014 before getting to the same stage at Roland Garros and then Wimbledon. After beating him at Indian Wells in March, Britain\u2019s Jack Draper said: \u201cIt\u2019s amazing for the tour that we\u2019ve got a really young superstar coming, especially from Brazil with such a big fanbase. It seems like every tournament he\u2019s going to, there\u2019s so many fans in the stadium. To be a part of that is really special for myself.\u201d<\/p>\n
The WTA also has a presence on the continent, with 250-level events throughout the season: in Bogot\u00e1, Colombia in March and April, and an event in S\u00e3o Paulo, Brazil which debuted in September. It has also increased its number of lower-level 125 events, from four in 2023 to six last year, with more to be confirmed for the remainder of 2025. Brazil\u2019s Beatriz Haddad Maia reached the French Open semifinals two years ago and has been ranked as high as No. 10, and her success \u2014 as well as the swell of interest in Fonseca \u2014 has seen promoters and federations pay more attention to local talent development in both the men\u2019s and women\u2019s games.<\/p>\n
Schwartzman wants to be at the center of that growth.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe main goal for me,\u201d he said, \u201cis that in 15, 20 years, maybe we can improve the structure and the conditions for the South American players.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou need to be involved in the entire thing to know how how to improve things there.\u201d<\/p>\n