Barra is at the heart of the Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games’ competitions and its attractions will include tennis and wheelchair tennis. During a visit to the event’s host city, Rio de Janeiro, International Tennis Federation (ITF) Executive Vice President Juan Margets said that the sport, and above all the athletes, have much to gain from holding the competition at Barra Olympic Park.

He also noted that the tournament in Rio will be very different from the one held at the 2012 London Games, which took place on the famous lawns of Wimbledon, the oldest and most prestigious venue in world tennis.

“We are very enthusiastic. The most important thing is that we are sure the athletes are very excited because the sport will be in the heart of the Games (link to Barra region) in 2016. The proximity to the Olympic Village is another positive point to integrate and share experiences”, said Margets.

This is the ITF’s first visit to Rio de Janeiro. In addition to Margets, professionals from the consulting, administration and communication areas held many meetings with members of the Rio 2016 Organising Committee from Tuesday to Thursday (14 to 16 May).

“In general, it has been a very positive trip. We arranged various meetings with all functional areas and we also visited the Barra zone, where the tennis and wheelchair tennis events will be taking place”, he explained.

According to Margets, the holding of the first Olympic and Paralympic Games on the South American continent will be a great opportunity for Brazilian tennis.

“Anyone who looks at the history of tennis knows that South America has performed, and is performing, an important role in our sport. We must not forget some major players such as Maria (Esther) Bueno and Gabriela Sabatini, among others. We hope the 2016 Games will be a catalyst for Brazilian tennis”, he said, noting that elite tournaments, such as the opening of the ATP 500 in 2014, are already coming to Rio de Janeiro.

Margets also said that the Brazilian people have a culture of warmly welcoming visitors and that this warmth will make for an unforgettable experience for all foreigners. “This is a very welcoming country and I would say we have experienced this over the last two days. Brazilians like to receive people and put them at ease. We are leaving Rio very encouraged and we think this is going to be a very good Games for our sport.”, he said.

The Olympic Tennis Centre, located in Barra Olympic Park, will include a centre court for around 10,000 spectators, other secondary courts for large numbers of spectators (5,000 in Court 1 and 3,000 in Court 2) and other support and warm-up courts, each able to seat 250 people.

Taekwondo and Cycling

Officials from the International Cycling Union (UCI) also visited Rio de Janeiro this week, represented by Sports Director Philippe Chevallier and Road Coordinator Matthew Knight.

Together with Rio 2016 officials, the UCI inspected the entire route of the road race – one of the most traditional events in the Olympic Games, held since the first edition in 1896 – and the time trials. A meeting with officials from various municipal and state entities – such as the Rio Traffic Engineering Company (CET-Rio), the Municipal Guard, the Military Policy, the Ministry of Sport, the Fire Brigade, the Municipal Olympic Company and the Municipal Conservation Secretariat (Seconserva) – and members of the Rio 2016 committee completed the visit.

Between 6 and 8 May, the World Taekwondo Federation (WTF) also visited the city. The WTF’s Secretary General, Jean-Marie Ayer, and its Sports Director, Jeong Kang Seo, participated in meetings with professionals from the Rio 2016 Organising Committee.

“This was the WTF’s first visit and we discussed various subjects of mutual interest to advance the planning”, said Josué Moraes, the Rio 2016 Sports Competition Coordinator responsible for taekwondo.