In the memory of good tennis fans, the prized “Argentine Legion” remained, that litter that was made up of a wide list of players who were born between 1975 and 1984 and who in the 2000s brought the sport of the racket to the elite world.
That golden generation of national tennis came to have more than 20 players among the best hundred in the world, and many of them during that period were top ten.
The Cordobans accompanied that great explosion of Argentine tennis to the point that exactly two decades ago there were 11 players from our province racked worldwide, a figure that became a record on October 16, 2000.
Three women (Eugenia Chialvo, Clarisa Fernández and Jorgelina Cravero) and eight men (Mariano Puerta, David Nalbandian, Agustín Calleri, Martín Rodríguez, Andrés Schneiter, Sebastián Uriarte, Martín Vercesi and Marcos Digliodo) were the representatives of the provincial tennis who participated that season in scoring tournaments on the ATP (men’s) and WTA (women’s) circuits.
Not a negligible figure, considering that South America was not at the center of world competition, despite the enormous development of its players in those days.
However, the possibility of scoring points in the country allowed Cordovan tennis to have the largest number of players on the circuit in its entire history.
Today, 20 years later, the situation is very different. With Juan Ignacio Londero (72 °) as the only top 300, the rest row it from far behind and the panorama is very different from the best times.
The voices of the protagonists
Until 2018, Córdoba was the venue for 40 percent of the international competitions that were held in the country, both for men and women.
But a couple of years ago, a calendar was created that aimed to concentrate the activity of this type of competition in Pinamar, leaving the rest of the country almost without dates. Then, these tournaments were canceled and the rest of the possible places were left without the possibility of doing them.
“Having few players at the top of the ranking is not just a situation in Córdoba, but also a national one. It is very difficult today to compete for the world if you do not have the help of a sponsor. There are many expenses and all in dollars, which is the hardest thing to get in Argentina, ”Londero told Mundo D.
Pedro Cachín (374 °) also remarked that the financial situation has a great influence: “Not only is support needed in the family economy, but also in the Federation. If there are many tournaments, the boys are encouraged. When I was little there were many tournaments in Villa Allende, Villa María, Villa del Dique, Bell Ville, many Futures. The children of the cities where the championships were held went to watch and that encouraged them to play. But today the Argentine situation does not allow these championships to be held unfortunately ”.
The Bell Ville tennis player has been living in Spain for seven years and stressed the importance of having references at a professional level to encourage younger players: “When you saw players like Agustín Calleri or David Nalbandian, you dreamed of being like them. Now there are few to reflect on ”.
Finally, Cachín gave as an example what happens in other parts of the world and said: “Italy, the United States and Asia organize many tournaments for their boys. And, like it or not, they give young promises a lot of possibilities. For something they have the litters that they have ”.
The voices of experience
There is no reason that summarizes the causes of the decline of Cordoba (and Argentine) tennis worldwide.
“The competitive schools in our province called on players from all over the country to train here. Men of the stature of Horacio Zeballos chose this province to train ”, explained Juan Pérez, president of the Cordovan Tennis Federation.
And he added: “Academies such as the Sport Social Club of Villa Maria or the Inés Gorrochategui Tennis Academy were key competition schools in the development of competitive tennis in Córdoba. Some of them, due to how difficult it is to maintain these structures, ended up closing ”.
In this context, there are several young people who try their luck at universities in the United States or who cross “the pond” in search of better opportunities than those they have here.
“And another issue that had a lot of influence was the change in the international ranking system for professional tournaments. The national championships no longer had a greater impact on the entrances to international competitions. Here our Federation always worried about organizing many tournaments Futures to encourage local players to add their first ATP points, “said Pérez, who, together with the federation he chairs, intended to organize four Futures, but due to the coronavirus pandemic, only one could be carried out. And he even had in mind the development of several more tournaments.
Finally, the president of the FCT also remarked that today there are fewer boys who play tennis and said: “Taking that factor into account, today we are not so bad. There are nine players (Londero, Cachín, Facundo Argüello, Franco Agamenone, Franco Egea, Alejo Lingua, Francisco Vittar, Carla Lucero and Melina Ferrero) in the ATP and WTA ranking. But undoubtedly of a lower quality ”.
In this sense, Clarisa Fernández (2002 Roland Garros semifinalist) agreed with Pérez and specified that “today there are many fewer children playing tennis in relation to what happened years ago, perhaps because we had more references. I think we felt that we were closer to the circuit compared to today, especially due to the economic issue ”.
The 39-year-old woman from Cordoba also stressed that a long time ago there was a very good circuit in minors and that meant that everyone had great competition both locally and internationally.
“In addition, there were development programs through the Argentine Tennis Association that allowed us to travel together with Guillermo Coria, Nalbandian and other players. Thanks to the scholarships we were able to play in both junior and professional levels and progress, ”Fernández closed.
Talent is not lacking
Tennis players with “crack pasta” continue to come out of the different Cordovan courts. There are very interesting projects and the fact that Argentine players like Diego Schwartzman and Nadia Podoroska have been semifinalists at Roland Garros will surely motivate the lower layer.
Luciana Moyano, just 15 years old, became the number one in South America in her category last year. He comes from Juárez Celman and has a long career.
Another player to follow is Serena Pereyra, who in 2019 received the Stimulus award from The voice after having won all the national and regional tournaments that he played. And, from yapa, he reached the top of the Under 16 ranking.
While, among the men, the young people who appear with the greatest projection are Victorio Marquiselli and Lucio Carnevalle, although they are not the only ones who fight to have their place on the circuit.
“Since 2007 I was very involved with the tennis of Córdoba for having the academy. Always having models to look to helps; those references have been lost a bit. That favors the litter that comes down more encouraged and has a north, “Inés Gorrochategui told Mundo D.
And he added: “I imagine that the economic issue has been a critical factor. Many players with great potential had to give up traveling. We will see after the pandemic how everything is and who can continue traveling and having a competitive calendar ”.
The original text of this article was published on 10/18/2020 in our print edition.
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