Tennis leadership dispute escalates with 'coup d'état' accusation

The ongoing leadership battle within Chilean tennis has reached a new peak, with accusations of an institutional "coup d'état" following an extraordinary assembly convened by the Chilean Olympic Committee (COCH).

“

As the Chilean Tennis Federation, we do not recognize this assembly nor the board that has emerged from it.

Javier Gómez, the lawyer representing Milovan Kegevic, vehemently rejected the validity of the COCH's intervention and the resulting board. "As the Chilean Tennis Federation, we do not recognize this assembly nor the board that has emerged from it," Gómez stated. He further argued that the Electoral Commission was improperly constituted, citing the inclusion of two members who are not part of the Fetech, a violation of the federation's statutes.

Gómez asserted that all recent actions aimed at orchestrating this "coup d'état" within the Tennis Federation are "absolutely null and void and unenforceable against our entire entity." He indicated that these objections have been presented to the Electoral Tribunal (TER), which reportedly did not rule on the submissions, leading to the matter being escalated to the Electoral Qualification Tribunal (Tricel).

“

The Electoral Commission is flawed in its constitution, as two members are not part of Fetech, and the statutes require this.

Despite these strong objections from the outgoing faction, the National Sports Federation of Tennis of Chile (Fetech) declared that weeks of institutional uncertainty have been overcome. The General Extraordinary Assembly successfully completed the formation of its board, officially confirming Juan Bugueño as the new president of the entity.

“

All actions taken recently to carry out this coup d'état within the Tennis Federation are absolutely null and void and unenforceable against our entire entity.