Podoroska and Carlé have broken a record and the future seems to be smiling

When it comes to comparison, the news loses overwhelmingly. Even so, continuing the football trend, the result is encouraging for the second half. On the one hand, the Argentines are enjoying a full present, with three titles in less than three and a half months of activity – including an ATP 500 – and with eight players positioned in the top 100; On the other hand, the women of our country have just left behind a period of almost 16 years without two top 100 in the same week. In June 2008 Gisela Dulko and María Emilia Salerni were. Now, with the entry of Maria Lourdes Carle to that elite – she is the 23rd Argentinian in history to be among the 100 best tennis players in the world – she and Nadia Podoroska They occupy that position in the rankings which is still a real privilege.

Rosario and Deroense lead an exciting group of girls. Because behind them appears a group of tennis players between 17 and 27 years old who guarantee at least a hopeful future. Julia Riera, Solana Sierra, Lucía Peyre and Luisa Giovannini They are part of that group and the oldest (Riera di Pergamin) is just 21 years old.

The times after the retirement of players like Paola Suárez, Clarisa Fernández, Salerni, Dulko and Mariana Díaz Oliva which did not give them a place in the Argentine calendar are definitely gone. “The Lionesses ruined women’s tennis because all the girls want to play hockey.”, the leaders said to hide, perhaps, the lack of money but also of ideas. The base of the female pyramid became a deserted beach.

But in 2018, when Agostino Calleri and other former tennis players of the brightest Argentine generation of all time have decided to stop speaking from the outside and work from the inside, former players have also arrived at the Argentine Tennis Association (AAT). Florencia Labat and Florencia Molinero They became leaders, Mercedes Pace accepted the challenge of becoming captain of the Billie Jean King Cup team and, alone, Diaz Oliva He began to organize tournaments… And he was always with them. Gabriela Sabatini, pushing with its image and attracting the much needed money for development.

Thanks to all this, the AAT alone has already organized four women’s tournaments this year and plans 14 throughout 2024, which would mark a record beyond the economic crisis.

Podoroska and Carlé are now the tip of the iceberg. The base is wider. This is why the women of Argentine tennis want to recover their historical place. There’s what.