Jump to the top division of tennis with a “homemade” tournament

The president of the CT La Bisbal Sports Club has reason to be exultant and also proud of all the work done over the years. “We are very excited because around thirty towns around the world with many more inhabitants than ours have a WTA 125. In Girona, city and province, such a category had never been caught in its life. We are talking about the first world division. Being there puts Bisbal in the front row. The opportunity has appeared for us and we did not want to be less than the rest».

They will be $115,000 in prizes. in play 160 punts which will count in the WTA ranking. Some of the differences compared to the most recent edition, when a major jump was made, moving to an ITF100,000+H, but without the scale of what is coming this 2023. It will be necessary to make a stand for a thousand people and the two tracks that will be used, the central one and number one, will have to modify their width by a few centimeters. The rigor of this circuit specifies it. It will take advantage of the electronic scoreboard and technology already in place.

New dimension, but the same essence of the first day. “It’s a tournament made in our house, something cooked with a lot of love. It will remain a club championship, no matter how WTA it is,” reflects Ponsatí. And he adds: “We have been consolidating, going up the steps little by little. The biggest step came this year, which allowed us to multiply our sponsors. Then we saw that we could do it, go a little further. A year or two ago we did see it as unfeasible, because we come from where we come from, a pandemic. But we are surrounded by people who offer us their support and all help always adds up».

Solgironès, the main sponsor, will not miss the event and will continue to give its name to a tournament that is followed by more and more people. “We went from 3 to 24 million media impact in the blink of an eye. This is a pass. Now what we want is to consolidate and then we’ll see how far we get, whether we consider making the jump to the WTA250 or not. At the moment it’s early.” So take it easy for now. The same old recipe that has helped CT La Bisbal to grow, gain a reputation and attract athletes and resources. In 2016, the starting shot was with an ITF10,000. Then, two years in the 25,000+H category, to spend 2019 and 2021 organizing a 60,000+H. This 2022, the most drastic change, with the 100,000+H. It was won by Xinyu Wang, currently number 86 in the world. And the Dutch Arantxa Rus competed there, then in 75th place, the highest position of a tennis player at the time she set foot on La Bisbal.

What could have been an exception will now become more and more common. “We will have half a dozen players who are among the top 100 in the ranking.” Dates help. From the 5th to the 11th of June, the preview of Roland Garros will have been held and, therefore, several tennis players who will have left Paris will be able to compete on the Costa Brava. An increasingly delicious alternative. Marina Bassols from Blanca and Aliona Bolsova from Palafrugell have all the numbers to repeat the experience, although there are still months to go and it depends on many factors. What will not change are the inclusive tennis days, a classic of the championship. The organization is even considering the possibility, the weekend before, of holding an Open in wheelchairs. many ideas Very eager to grow. The dream, more and more real.