Over a hundred tennis players from around the world will gather next week at the tennis courts of Club de Tennis els Gorchs.
This afternoon, at Club de Tennis els Gorchs, the third edition of the ITF 15 thousand Les Franqueses del Vallès Tournament was presented. The competition will take place from March 10 to 17 on the courts of the Franqueses club and is part of the sporting events in Les Franqueses, European Town of Sport 2024. An ITF tournament that will award up to 15 thousand dollars in prizes and will bring to Les Franqueses del Vallès tennis players ranked between 400 and 200 in the ATP ranking.
Players such as the Spanish Nikolas Sánchez, tournament top seed and number 285 in the ATP ranking, the Canadian Steven Diez, the second seed and number 313 in the ATP ranking, and the Australian Matthew Dellavedova, the third seed and number 432 in the ATP ranking, will participate at Club de Tennis els Gorchs. This ITF 15 thousand will feature players from countries such as England, Ukraine, Colombia, Brazil, or Chile and is part of the ITF Men’s World Tennis Tour.
The tournament is also part of the Gorchs Tennis Project and marks the beginning of the tournament season at the Franqueses club. In fact, the club’s tournament calendar for 2024 was also presented today. Six competitions, five of them international, will begin this week with the ITF 15 thousand for men. From April 20 to May 26, the Catalan Youth B Championship will take place on weekends. From May 21 to 26, the ITF junior tournament will be held. From September 23 to 29, the club will host a new veterans’ tournament, the ITF Masters. In October, from the 21st to the 27th, the most important tournament of the year will take place, the ITF 100 thousand for women, featuring the world’s best tennis players in one of the two best ITF tournaments in Spain. The season will end in November with the National Wheelchair Tennis Masters.
Mayor of Les Franqueses del Vallès, Juan Antonio Corchado, expressed gratitude for the work of Club de Tennis els Gorchs and its president, Jaume Marquès, also present at the event. Corchado announced an increase in the town’s contribution to the women’s tournament, stating, “It is an example of success and professionalism and deserves increased support from the municipality. For us, it is also the most important tournament because we support women’s sports as we do in other sports.” In this regard, the sports councilor, Carles Munzón, highlighted the work of the sports entities in the municipality, stating, “They are the ones that generate all the movement and are essential for the municipality. If we look at the sports calendar of all the entities, what they do, and what they want to do in the future, we can see the strength of sports in Les Franqueses. If we look at the volume of extraordinary activities on the occasion of the European Town of Sport, more than 50, and add them to what the entities in the municipality already do, we can see our sports vitality.” Abel García, an advisor from the Barcelona Provincial Council, also expressed support for the sports activity in Les Franqueses, joking about the frequent visits he makes to the town due to its sporting events. “I have to tell you that if the activity is frenetic in the province, since Les Franqueses is the European Town of Sport, it has multiplied. I already said it a few days ago, but I will say it again; it is the municipality where the Provincial Council is most physically present, and this shows that activity in Les Franqueses does not stop. I can tell you that wherever I could, I have used you as an example of management.” Jaume Marquès, President of Club de Tennis els Gorchs, thanked the support of all institutions and explained that this is the third edition of the tournament “because years ago we had already organized two ITF 10 thousand for men. The Gorchs Tennis Project is here to contribute to making Catalan sports bigger, to make tennis bigger, and to demonstrate our strength internationally.” Lastly, the President of the Catalan Tennis Federation, Jordi Tamayo, also expressed support for Club de Tennis els Gorchs, stating that this tournament “positions Catalonia, positions Gorchs, positions the work done as a federation, which is the internationalization of our sport and represents clear leadership of the clubs that, on the other hand, we need.“
Also present at this afternoon’s event were the two ambassadors of the Gorchs Tennis Project, former tennis player Neus Àvila and tennis player José Coronado. Both praised the effort made by the club to move forward. Coronado expressed his satisfaction, stating, “The calendar is growing more and more, and the projects of the Gorchs Tennis Project are getting bigger, and this is the result of very good work behind the human team led by Jaume.” Àvila highlighted the work of all the club’s volunteers, considering it “not easy to find the human team that can accompany you in these projects because, in the end, you need the people from the club to accompany you. And I think they are doing an excellent job.“
Around thirty volunteers will work during this tournament so that the tennis players only have to worry about their game.
