Feminine power, present at the GNP Seguros Open

Sport has the power to transcend barriers of gender, nationality, race and religion.

It promotes health and well-being, improves self-esteem, and fosters perseverance, teamwork, and leadership skills.

Women in sport challenge gender stereotypes, become inspiration as role models, and show men and women as equals.

According to statistics, women are more visible in sports today than ever before. Out of a total of 997 athletes, only 22 women competed for the first time in the 1900 Games in Paris.

London 2012 was the first Games in which women competed in all sports on the Olympic programme.

As many sectors have increasingly recognized, women broaden perspectives, bring new ideas and innovations, and reach new audiences.

Among them, tennis has become an important platform for Mexico and Latin America in terms of female empowerment, showing the power of women in society, with one of the greatest exponents of this sport such as Serena Williams, that came breaking stereotypes.

Just as in recent years there has been a presence of Latin blood within the WTA tour, having great representatives in both doubles and singles.

This is possible thanks to the development, effort, sacrifice and perseverance of each one of them, but also an important factor is the support of the people, brands and places that bet on them and the tournaments in which they participate, such as the GNP Seguros Open .

True to its style, this tournament is a home for Mexicans as well as Latin Americans who seek to accumulate points in order to qualify for more demanding competitive tournaments, giving them the opportunity to compete against important figures.

An example of this is the delivery of wildcards for both the qualifying round and the main draw of the tournament, which has been key to seeing these tennis players in the final instances.

The first time it was seen in this tournament was in 2018, when Giuliana Olmos, who is now number seven in the world in the doubles modality, reached the final, and in the previous edition.

And also for the Colombian number 70 in the world, Camila Osorio, who also played a final, in the singles modality.

The Colombian herself has mentioned her gratitude to this tournament on several occasions, considering it essential for Latin blood to continue to be present in different higher-level international competitions, such as a Grand Slam, as this is an important prelude to aspire to it.

“This tournament helped me because they gave me the opportunity to play here for the first time in a WTA outside of Colombia and it was a blessing, I had the chance to play with high-level players.

“For example, 2021 I think it was my best year and nothing, I think it has been incredible to have the opportunity to play near my house because of the treatment I receive when I play here, Monterrey is incredible so I think it has helped me a lot too in points, being able to add, and everything is something very, very good”, declared the player.

This has helped new generations to compete for the same objective, as is the case of the Mexican Fernanda Contreras, who in a short time has evolved a lot in her game, progress that Monterrey has witnessed.

The 25-year-old tennis player has represented Mexico in three Grand Slam tournaments such as Wimbledon, Roland Garros and the US Open, and for this WTA 250 tournament she has received two “wildcards”, the first in 2022 for “qualys” and in this year for the main draw, an opportunity he is making the most of.

“The truth is that sport has helped me a lot, it has opened many doors for me, it has helped me go to university, travel, see the world, make many new friends, it gives me confidence, being able to travel and play the sport that I love .

“And secondly, thank you very much here to Monterrey, the organization and everyone because this tournament is magnificent, we have a lot of great people in tennis, a lot of cheering, that is, nobody beats the Mexican public and having this opportunity for the Mexicans of being able to play a WTA at home, the truth is priceless”, says Contreras.

She also accepts the importance that having the opportunity to play a tournament of this category at home plays in personal motivation and what has worked to mature both her and her teammates in the sport.

“I have seen a lot of growth, I know that the Mexican team brings a lot of ‘fire power’, Gugu (Giuliana Olmos) reached the Final here 2 or 3 years ago, it went very well, she is in the top 10 in the world, Renata reached two Finals at the beginning of the year, Marcela reached the semis at 60, here she had a difficult draw in qualifying, but even so she is playing very well, I really love that they give us a chance to play, that they give us the wildcards and that we have that experience, the truth helps us a lot on the tour”, expresses Contreras.

The Mexican duo for this tournament was made up of Marcela Zacarias from Potosí and Renata Zarazúa from Guadalajara, the Mexican representative of the recent Olympic Games, showing feminine power to keep an audience captive for their way of playing.

Marcela, points out the work of the organization to have a continuous improvement in this event.

“I think that right now we Mexicans are in a very good moment, we are going from less to more, I think that in the last four or five years we have all been among the two hundred in the world, so that is very important for the new generations, for that they have a lot of motivation to play tennis and I think that there are several girls who are playing very well in the youth teams that I hope will later have the opportunity to play here”, says Zacarías.

Her teammate agreed with this by highlighting the great work that the Mexicans are doing on the tour and how their development has been favorable, and how they even support each other to continue advancing.

In the same way, he spoke about how this tournament has been a great opportunity to empower themselves in the sport by being able to be at home, with an audience supporting them and most importantly, how this has encouraged them to continue improving and being able to participate in tournaments with higher scores.

“I think this is a tournament that drives us a lot to reach big tournaments, in the end there are many Latinas, many Mexicans, but we need to take that extra step to reach the big tournaments, I think we lack a lot of heart and believe it”, Zarazua says.

The four tennis players highlight the treatment of the organization, the dedication of the public and how it is getting better for them in terms of the game and positioning of the royal tournament, which has the objective of turning them, as Mexicans, into great representatives of tennis worldwide.

The opportunity to belong and allow to be, is something in which the 4 tennis players agree, a tournament to which they like to return for all that it means in their careers.

Sport helps, as with every human being, to improve in various aspects of your life, and this is how even the recognition of the public, representing a flag, with a sense of belonging that is noted in each applause, and in each ” Mexico” or with the joy that characterizes Latin Americans in a sport where only in the most closed moments, make your feelings known, where concentration and confidence are the key to success, based on the self-esteem of your game.