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 #PlayerHighest rankATP TourATPNo.DateFirstLastTitlesWins1.Guillermo Vilas2Apr 197519691992629512.Juan Martín del Potro3Aug 201820052019224393.David Nalbandian3Mar 200620002013113834.Guillermo Coria3May 20042000200992185.José Luis Clerc4Aug 198119771995253786.Gastón Gaudio5Apr 20051996201182707.Guillermo Cañas8Jun 20051995201072528.Diego Schwartzman8Oct 20202010202031589.Alberto Mancini8Oct 198919871994314810.Mariano Puerta9Aug 200519982009312811.Martín Jaite10Jul 1990198319931230112.Juan Mónaco10Jul 2012200220179342
Women #PlayerHighest rankWTA TourWTANo.DateFirstLastTitlesWins1.Gabriela Sabatini3Feb 198919851996276322.Paola Suárez9Jun 2004199120124371
Doubles
Men #PlayerHighest rankATP TourATPNo.DateFirstLastTitlesWins1.Horacio Zeballos1May 20242003202017221
Women #PlayerHighest rankWTA TourWTANo.DateFirstLastTitlesWins1.Paola Suárez1Sep 200219912012445132.Gisela Dulko1Nov 201020012012173053.Gabriela Sabatini3Nov 19881985199613252
Best results at major tournaments As of the 2020 French Open. Singles Men PlayerAustralian OpenFrench OpenWimbledonUS OpenATP FinalsOtherGuillermo VilasWin (2)WinQuarterfinalWinWinWon 2 Monte-Carlo Masters, 2 Washington Masters, a Hamburg Masters and a Rome Masters.Juan Martín del PotroQuarterfinalSemifinalSemifinalWinFinalWon an Indian Wells Masters, a Silver medal and a Bronze medal at the Olympics.David NalbandianSemifinalSemifinalFinalSemifinalWinWon a Madrid Masters and a Paris Masters.Gastón Gaudio3rd roundWin2nd round3rd roundSemifinalGuillermo Coria4th roundFinal4th roundQuarterfinalRound robinWon a Hamburg Masters and a Monte-Carlo Masters.Mariano Puerta2nd roundFinal1st round2nd roundRound robinJosé Luis Clerc2nd roundSemifinal4th round4th roundQuarterfinalWon a Rome Masters.Diego Schwartzman4th roundSemifinal3rd roundQuarterfinalRound robinGuillermo Cañas4th roundQuarterfinal4th round3rd roundDid not playWon a Canada Masters.Martín Jaite3rd roundQuarterfinal2nd round3rd roundQuarterfinalAlberto Mancini2nd roundQuarterfinalDid not play4th roundDid not playWon a Monte-Carlo Masters and a Rome Masters.
Most wins against top 10 players #PlayerWinsLossNotes1.Juan Martín del Potro5378Second player with most wins against the "Big Three" (17).2.Guillermo Vilas51823.David Nalbandian3560Only player to defeat the "Big Three" in the same tournament.4.José Luis Clerc24455.Guillermo Cañas2030Juan Mónaco20567.Juan Ignacio Chela17528.Mariano Zabaleta16279.Gastón Gaudio123310.Agustín Calleri1128Martín Jaite1134
Team competitions Finals Competition TitlesRunner-upsDavis Cup1201641981, 2006, 2008, 2011Hopman Cup–12005
Notes
References