Argentina has always been one of the dominant South American nations in tennis and over the last few years, it’s showing in the Davis Cup confirms its claim as one of the strongest powers on the global stage but many people are still in doubt whether tennis in Argentina will overcome the step-motherly treatment that it receives from the fans, the government, the media and the sponsors to become one of the biggest assets for a country that worships football and consider footballers as Gods.
Furthermore, there are all the controversies that tennis in the country is always embroiled in, which makes one wonder whether the sport will ever get a strong footing in the country. Tennis in Argentina has probably reached its highest position in the last decade with the country appearing four times in the Davis Cup final, losing all four and having a player or two in the Top 10 of the ATP rankings on a consistent basis.
In the women’s tennis circuit too, the country has progressed by leaps and bounds and Gabriella Sabatini, the country’s only female Grand Slam title winner with a US Open victory under her belt in 1990 and although, it has failed to produce another female Grand Slam winner in recent years, the game has seen steady rise over the last couple of decades.
But what the players are still complaining about is the fact that due to the lack of sponsors, the infrastructure for the growth, development and nurturing of younger players is still not possible and if tennis in Argentina is to progress, players like David Nalbandian, Juan martin Del Potro and Juan Ignacio Chela believe that the corporate must extend a helping hand for the game to develop to its full potential and aid in the development of the sport as a whole.