Ana Salas, the new director of the Open Ciudad de Valencia, a women's tennis tournament that this year has risen to the ITF 80,000 category, said in an interview with EFE that the fact that it is played after the BBVA Open Valencia, which takes place this week, is a benefit not only for both championships but also for the players and the city.
For this fifth edition of the tournament, the Valencia Tennis Club has chosen Ana Salas as the new director to replace Anabel Medina, a challenge considered “a great luxury” for the former tennis player who, after ceasing to be a coach and technical director of the Madrid Tennis Federation, is currently training to become a veteran world champion again, which she combines with her work as a television commentator and her BEPRO foundation to help athletes .
“There is no rivalry with the Anabel (Medina) tournament at all, I think we have to thank her because she was the one that started this project in Valencia, she worked hard together with the club to carry this project forward that for different reasons it has now doubled and it is the Valencia Tennis Club that has made a titanic effort to maintain it and celebrate this fifth edition, “he said.
“I think it is very positive and it is something that she also says, if instead of one there are two, imagine, double the benefit for the players. For the visibility of the city of Valencia, having two consecutive weeks of tennis enhances it. Having a mirror image of an almost parallel tournament helps both parties to improve. When I agreed to direct this tournament, I called Anabel, because we have been close friends for many years, and I told her: 'Anita, we are going to help each other in whatever way we can,' “he added.
Ana Salas continued by stating that both tournaments can provide feedback and help each other to improve and even showed his desire that they keep their current dates next year.
“When you have two tournaments instead of one, there are players who choose to come to Valencia instead of elsewhere because it is more comfortable for tennis players. and it is always more attractive for the three or four top hundred that can come, “he said.
“I'm not sure about the dates for next year yet because these tournaments need a lot of sponsorship, a lot of resources and it is a huge job. on the part of the organizers to secure them. If everything remains the same, the idea is that the dates continue like this, I think that the ideal scenario is that they be consecutive and I imagine that both directions will work it that way so that it continues to be like that, “he continued
Salas explained to EFE that a month and a half ago from the C.T. Valencia contacted her to take over the tournament and she was very flattered and satisfied by the opportunity they have given her.
“They were looking for an option with experience in directing large tennis tournaments and when I was directing the Madrid Tennis Federation I directed between 30 and 40 ITF tournaments, some of 50,000 and I think they saw in me the person who could give them that added bonus. from experience, as well as my experience as a player and I am flattered that they have done it because it is a great project and I feel happy and delighted, “he stressed.
“I was very attracted by the affection with which they made the proposal, with respect and above all that the CT Valencia is special for me, when I was little the Faulconbridge Cup was played at the CT Valencia and there I saw all the players who They were the elite and I came to Valencia as if I were going to Wimbledon. I have a special affection for this club, for the city and for the people in the club, and I am delighted with the great team that I have known more thoroughly these last weeks working for the tournament and they make me happier if possible with my decision, “he stressed.
Apart from the promotion of the tournament to ITF 80,000 and the direct impact on having higher ranking tennis players, Salas wanted to highlight the social actions that will take place around the tournament.
“We are going to do more solidarity actions, we want to have an event beyond tennis, to expand not only the promotion of women's tennis at the highest level but also that all boys and girls come closer to having these girls as references, and also a social activity to make disability visible, adapted to tennis in its three aspects, which is something that children are taught by a reality and that humility. The entire CT Valencia team has this idea of not only showing the highest level of women's tennis but also creating a huge social action around this event that gives value to our youth “, he concluded.