Nicolás Jarry is returning to competition. This Wednesday he travels to Colombia to play the Cali Challenger 75, which begins on Monday, October 19, at Club Farallones. It will be his first tournament after more than six months out with a right elbow injury that has troubled him since last year.
According to La Tercera, the Chilean requested an invitation (wild card) for direct entry into the main draw and is still awaiting a response. If he does not receive it, he will play in qualifying. Radio ADN put the Colombian tournament's dates at October 19 to 25.
The second stop is confirmed. Andrés Gómez, the Ecuadorian tennis legend and organizer of the Guayaquil Challenger 75, gave him a main-draw invitation. "Jaime Fillol helped me a lot when I was starting out. Today I want to help Nico resume his career," Gómez explained. The sources disagree on the dates: La Tercera says it starts on October 25, while Radio ADN gives October 26 to November 1.
Lima comes next. That Challenger is directed by former Peruvian tennis player and Davis Cup captain Luis Horna and takes place at Club Las Terrazas de Miraflores. The tour ends at the Uruguay Open in Montevideo, from November 15 to 22, at Carrasco Lawn Tennis. According to La Tercera, Jarry also requested wild cards for these two tournaments and is awaiting a response. All four are played outdoors on clay.
The schedule reflects an urgent need to improve his ranking. Jarry, who reached world No. 16, is now ranked 867th. In April, when the injury worsened, he was 133rd. With that ranking, he can only enter tournaments through invitations or a protected ranking, the mechanism the ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) provides to players returning from lengthy injury absences.
A few days ago, during an exhibition at the Chile Open golf tournament, the tennis player discussed his recovery. He acknowledged that the pain had not completely disappeared but said that physiotherapy, strengthening and mobility work had paid off. "Each week I'm increasing the intensity of the workload and my shots, and so far it has been very manageable," he said.
He also discussed how he sees this stage: "I want to keep playing as long as my body lets me, as long as life lets me. For now I can, and it will be different. But as long as there is an opportunity, I'm going to take it."
The first test will come on Monday the 19th in Cali. There, it will become clear how his elbow responds in competition and whether he can begin collecting the points he needs to climb from the bottom of the rankings before the season ends in Montevideo on November 22.