Tennis in Argentina

Tennis in Argentina is regulated by the Asociación Argentina de Tenis (Argentine Tennis Association), which also selects the coaches of the Argentine teams for the Davis Cup and Federation Cup. There are many tennis courts in Argentina, and the sport, even though still considered middle- to upper-class, is practiced by regardless of age.

History

Although British immigrants brought the sport to Argentina, it was not until late in the 1970s that Guillermo Vilas' success made the sport popular, reaching second place in the 1975 ATP ranking. He was internationally recognised and was later included in the International Tennis Hall of Fame. During the 1980s, José Luis Clerc (4th), Alberto Mancini (8th) and Martín Jaite (10th) followed Vilas and kept interest in the sport alive. Argentina won the 1980 World Team Cup beating Italy 3–0, and reached the final of the 1980 Davis Cup, losing to United States 3–1. In the 1990s it was Gabriela Sabatini who best represented Argentine tennis, becoming an international figure on and off the court.

The boom of Argentine tennis players came in the 2000s, when many players became important in the circuit reaching high ranks. Paola Suárez won eight Grand Slam doubles between 2001 and 2005 and was, together with Spaniard Virginia Ruano Pascual, the top women's couple for three years in a row. In 2002, José Acasuso, Guillermo Cañas, Lucas Arnold and Gastón Etlis won again the World Team Cup for Argentina, this time 3–0 against Russia. Five years later, Acasuso, Juan Ignacio Chela, Agustín Calleri and Sebastián Prieto won it again, this time 2–1 against the Czech Republic. David Nalbandian lost in the final of Wimbledon in 2002. The 2004 French Open saw an Argentine final between Gastón Gaudio and Guillermo Coria. The following year's French Open saw Mariano Puerta reach the final.

Another example of the importance of the Argentine presence on the circuit was the August 2005 male rankings that counted five Argentine players among the top 12 (from 8th to 12th) of the ATP ranking, and three in the top ten of the Champions Race (5th, 8th and 9th). The 2005 Tennis Masters Cup, due to a series of last-minute resignations, had 4 Argentine players of the total of 8, with Gaudio reaching semi-finals, and Nalbandian winning the competition against #1 Roger Federer.

In 2009 Juan Martín del Potro became the first Argentinian to win the US Open since Guillermo Vilas did in 1977. Del Potro defeated world number 2 Rafael Nadal in straight sets in semifinals to reach the final and eventually beat world number 1 Roger Federer in five sets. That year Del Potro reached the final of the ATP World Tour Championship. In 2016, the Argentine Copa Davis team were crowned world champions. Juan Martín del Potro, Federico Delbonis, Leonardo Mayer and Guido Pella earned the country their first title in the sport's most important inter-country competition.

Highest-ranked players

Singles

Men # Player Highest rank ATP Tour ATP Ref. No. Date First Last Titles Wins 1. Guillermo Vilas 2 Apr 1975 1969 1992 62 951 [1] 2. Juan Martín del Potro 3 Aug 2018 2005 2019 22 439 [2] 3. David Nalbandian 3 Mar 2006 2000 2013 11 383 [3] 4. Guillermo Coria 3 May 2004 2000 2009 9 218 [4] 5. José Luis Clerc 4 Aug 1981 1977 1995 25 378 [5] 6. Gastón Gaudio 5 Apr 2005 1996 2011 8 270 [6] 7. Guillermo Cañas 8 Jun 2005 1995 2010 7 252 [7] 8. Diego Schwartzman 8 Oct 2020 2010 2020 3 158 [8] 9. Alberto Mancini 8 Oct 1989 1987 1994 3 148 [9] 10. Mariano Puerta 9 Aug 2005 1998 2009 3 128 [10] 11. Martín Jaite 10 Jul 1990 1983 1993 12 301 [11] 12. Juan Mónaco 10 Jul 2012 2002 2017 9 342 [12]

Women # Player Highest rank WTA Tour WTA Ref. No. Date First Last Titles Wins 1. Gabriela Sabatini 3 Feb 1989 1985 1996 27 632 [13] 2. Paola Suárez 9 Jun 2004 1991 2012 4 371 [14]

Doubles

Men # Player Highest rank ATP Tour ATP Ref. No. Date First Last Titles Wins 1. Horacio Zeballos 3 Sep 2019 2003 2020 17 221 [15]

Women # Player Highest rank WTA Tour WTA Ref. No. Date First Last Titles Wins 1. Paola Suárez 1 Sep 2002 1991 2012 44 513 [14] 2. Gisela Dulko 1 Nov 2010 2001 2012 17 305 [16] 3. Gabriela Sabatini 3 Nov 1988 1985 1996 13 252 [13]

Best results at major tournaments

As of the 2020 French Open.

Singles

Men

Player	Australian Open	French Open	Wimbledon	US Open	ATP Finals	Other
Guillermo Vilas	Win (2)	Win	Quarterfinal	Win	Win	Won 2 Monte-Carlo Masters, 2 Washington Masters, a Hamburg Masters and a Rome Masters.
Juan Martín del Potro	Quarterfinal	Semifinal	Semifinal	Win	Final	Won an Indian Wells Masters, a Silver medal and a Bronze medal at the Olympics.
David Nalbandian	Semifinal	Semifinal	Final	Semifinal	Win	Won a Madrid Masters and a Paris Masters.
Gastón Gaudio	3rd round	Win	2nd round	3rd round	Semifinal
Guillermo Coria	4th round	Final	4th round	Quarterfinal	Round robin	Won a Hamburg Masters and a Monte-Carlo Masters.
Mariano Puerta	2nd round	Final	1st round	2nd round	Round robin
José Luis Clerc	2nd round	Semifinal	4th round	4th round	Quarterfinal	Won a Rome Masters.
Diego Schwartzman	4th round	Semifinal	3rd round	Quarterfinal	Round robin
Guillermo Cañas	4th round	Quarterfinal	4th round	3rd round	Did not play	Won a Canada Masters.
Martín Jaite	3rd round	Quarterfinal	2nd round	3rd round	Quarterfinal
Alberto Mancini	2nd round	Quarterfinal	Did not play	4th round	Did not play	Won a Monte-Carlo Masters and a Rome Masters.

Most wins against top 10 players

#	Player	Wins	Loss	Notes
1.	Juan Martín del Potro	53	78	Second player with most wins against the "Big Three"[a] (17).[18]
2.	Guillermo Vilas	51	82
3.	David Nalbandian	35	60	Only player to defeat the "Big Three" in the same tournament.[19]
4.	José Luis Clerc	24	45
5.	Guillermo Cañas	20	30
	Juan Mónaco	20	56
7.	Juan Ignacio Chela	17	52
8.	Mariano Zabaleta	16	27
9.	Gastón Gaudio	12	33
10.	Agustín Calleri	11	28
	Martín Jaite	11	34

Team competitions

Finals

Competition	Titles		Runner-ups		Ref.
Davis Cup	1	2016	4	1981, 2006, 2008, 2011	[20]
Hopman Cup	–		1	2005	[21]

Notes

1. "Big Three" refers to number-one players and multiple Grand Slam winners Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.^[17]

References

1. "Guillermo Vilas – Overview". Association of Tennis Professionals. Retrieved October 8, 2020.
2. "Juan Martin del Potro – Overview". Association of Tennis Professionals. Retrieved October 8, 2020.
3. "David Nalbandian – Overview". Association of Tennis Professionals. Retrieved October 8, 2020.
4. "Guillermo Coria – Overview". Association of Tennis Professionals. Retrieved October 8, 2020.
5. "José Luis Clerc – Overview". Association of Tennis Professionals. Retrieved October 8, 2020.
6. "Gastón Gaudio – Overview". Association of Tennis Professionals. Retrieved October 8, 2020.
7. "Guillermo Cañas – Overview". Association of Tennis Professionals. Retrieved October 8, 2020.
8. "Diego Schwartzman – Overview". Association of Tennis Professionals. Retrieved October 9, 2020.
9. "Alberto Mancini – Overview". Association of Tennis Professionals. Retrieved October 8, 2020.
10. "Mariano Puerta – Overview". Association of Tennis Professionals. Retrieved October 8, 2020.
11. "Martín Jaite – Overview". Association of Tennis Professionals. Retrieved October 8, 2020.
12. "Juan Mónaco – Overview". Association of Tennis Professionals. Retrieved October 8, 2020.
13. "Gabriela Sabatini – Overview". Women's Tennis Association. Retrieved October 8, 2020.
14. "Paola Suárez – Overview". Women's Tennis Association. Retrieved October 8, 2020.
15. "Horacio Zeballos – Overview". Association of Tennis Professionals. Retrieved October 9, 2020.
16. "Gisela Dulko – Overview". Women's Tennis Association. Retrieved October 8, 2020.
17. Zagoria, Adam (August 25, 2019). "How The 'Big Three' Of Men's Tennis Has Taken Grand Slam Titles From A Generation Of Players". Forbes. Retrieved October 10, 2020.
18. "Which players have beaten Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, and Rafael Nadal the most times?". Tennis Head. February 5, 2020. Retrieved October 11, 2020.
19. "When Nalbandian Beat Nadal, Djokovic & Federer Consecutively". Association of Tennis Professionals. May 6, 2020. Retrieved October 10, 2020.
20. "Davis Cup – Argentina". Davis Cup. Retrieved October 9, 2020.
21. "History Timeline". Hopman Cup. Retrieved October 9, 2020.