The Guadalajara Wheelchair Open 2012 tennis tournament at the Telcel Tennis Center will be the first of its kind in the history of the city. The event runs next week from February 2 to 5.

In order to rocket this new tournament to international recognition, it comes hot on the heels of the Parapan American Games in Guadalajara, and also comes in time to give international-caliber players a chance to boost their rankings and claim a ticket to the Paralympic Games in London this summer. As such, the tournament already counts 40 participants.

Tom Van Doren, national coordinator of wheelchair tennis for the Mexican Federation of Tennis, expressed enthusiasm over these numbers. “Normally for this type of tournament, if you have two or three foreigners, it’s enough. We have twelve. Eight Chileans, a Canadian, two Americans, and a Frenchwoman.”

The open tournament is part of the Futures Series of the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and will feature three categories of competition: men’s, women’s and quadriplegic.

Tito Bautista, Paralympic basketball gold medalist, tennis player at the recent Parapan American Games and Mexican-American dual citizen says the tournament is not shy about its ambitions, stating their hopes “every two years to upgrade it to a higher level.”

Bautista, from Jocotepec, invites all his American and Canadian neighbors to come out for the tournament and show support to their compatriots. Entrance is free. Matches start at 11 a.m. on tournament days.

How to get there

The Telcel Tennis Center is located at Avenida Economos 6600 in Parque Metropolitano in Zapopan. (Driving North on the Periferico, exit at Avenida Guadalupe, cross that Avenue, continuing on the Lateral of the Periferico and take the next right turn onto Economos. It is one block away.)