The Mexican Open tennis tournament is less than a week away, and organizers in Acapulco are confident that post-hurricane reconstruction will be completed on time to host the ATP tournament.

The Pacific Coast beach resort was battered in late October by a Category 5 hurricane that destroyed the tennis courts and caused structural damage to the Arena GNP Seguros event complex, which has hosted the ATP tournament since 2022. 

Event organizers said in December that they’d be ready to host the tournament in February, saying they hoped that the arena’s reconstruction – and the event itself – would contribute to Acapulco’s recovery process.

Thirty-five companies have been working since December to rehabilitate the Arena GNP complex as well as hotels in the area. The newspaper Milenio toured the grounds this week and reported that reconstruction of the installations was 95 percent complete.

The tour of the tennis courts revealed that the arena has been reconditioned and will capably host the thousands of fans, reporters and media expected to attend the tournament from Feb. 26 to March 2.

Although organizers declined to offer a precise figure, Milenio estimated the cost of the rehabilitation process at 200 million pesos (US $11.7 million).

Tournament Director Álvaro Falla called on Acapulco residents and fans in attendance to unite to make the 31st Mexican Open a success. He did say that protests are to be expected, but hopes they will not tarnish the event.

“We have been working hard to host the [Mexican Open] with the goal of helping to reactivate Acapulco’s economy,” Falla said, expressing gratitude for the cooperation that has facilitated the reconstruction process and allowed the region to make early strides in the long road to recovery.

“These have been difficult days in Acapulco, so we might not see a packed house,” said Falla, acknowledging that local residents typically comprise a significant portion of fans in attendance. 

Organizers are offering promotions and discounts to acapulqueños interested in seeing the tournament. Eleven of the Top 20 ATP players will be participating, including four ranked in the Top 10: Germany’s Alexander Zverev (No. 6), Denmark’s Holger Rune (No. 7), American Taylor Fritz (No. 9) and Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas (No.10).

Last year’s Mexican Open – just the second one ever held at the Arena GNP – set a tournament attendance record of over 90,000 fans.

With reports from La Jornada and Milenio