The Challengers, the refuge of the second row of Argentine tennis in a record season

The question happens – as almost always – to look at the glass half full or half empty. For the second option there are two convincing arguments: the Argentine tennis elite failed in the two most important team competitions in 2022 as the men failed to win a single series in Bologna – in the previous one it was unthinkable to be fourth out of four- and stayed out of the quarterfinals of Davis Cup, while the women – they had it more complicated, it’s true – suffered a heavy defeat against Brazil and in 2023 they will play America again for the Billie Jean King Cup .

Meanwhile, everything that the second lines have done appears on the other side. Argentina added no less than 22 challenger titles in 2022 when Genaro Olivieri gave his first cry in this type of tournament on Monday by consecrating himself on the brick dust of Montevideo Carrasco Lawn Tennis. The mark is a record for a country in one season and can still be increased.

Cordovan Pedro Cachin, confirmed among the best 100 tennis players in the world, was the first winner with four conquests but names such as Juan Manuel Cerúndolo, Camilo Ugo, Francisco Comesaña, Tomás Etcheverry, Santiago Rodríguez Taverna, Facundo Díaz also appear on that list. Acosta and Juan Bautista Torres, who are 23 or younger, are in the top 250 and symbolize, in some ways, change in the near future.

The girls, for their part, thanks to a series of tournaments held in our country, were able to add successes and points and also score things to come. This group includes Julia Riera, Jazmín Ortenzi, Solana Sierra, Lucía Peyre, Luciana Moyano and Luisina Giovannini (only 16 years old), for example. They entered the rankings. And they are also part of that glass half full.