La tenista moldense Luisina Giovannini will be part of the Argentine team that will play from August 8 to 13 South American U-16 tennis in the city of San Miguel de Tucumán.
Giovannini junto a Lourdes Ayala, Carla Marcus, Lucca Güercio, Maximum Zeitune y Valentin Garay make up the Argentine teams that will represent the country in the continental event. Martin Errecalde y Geronimo Degreefcoaches of the Development team, were designated as captains for the men’s and women’s teams, respectively, and Ignacio Menchón as physical trainer.
Argentina will host a youth competition of this magnitude after three years (South American Sub-12 in Villa María) but it took more than a decade to receive a South American Sub-16: the last precedent dates back to 2011, when it was played at Club Círculo Militar and Club Centro Naval de Olivos.
This time, it will be Tucuman Lawn Tennis Club the one that opens the doors for this true festival of South American youth tennis. The tournament, belonging to the circuits SEWED e ITFwill be organized jointly by the Argentine Tennis Association and the Tucuman Tennis Association.
In both men and women, Argentina will compete against representatives of nine other countries that make up the South American Tennis Confederation (COSAT): Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela. Three teams for men and three for women will qualify for the Davis Cup Jr. and Billie Jean King Cup Jr., which will take place between November 1 and 6 at the Mega Saray Tennis Club Academy in Antalya, Turkey .
The Argentine team
Luisina Giovannini he is 15 years old and already knows what it means to represent Argentina. This year he participated in the delegation that participated in the South American Games Rosario 2022. She there she got the silver medal in singles and climbed to the top of the podium in women’s doubles. She comes from being champion of the J5 Salta, in March she stayed with the J3 Mendoza, and she is one of the most outstanding Juniors in the country. She, in turn, at a professional level, managed to overcome the Qualy of the W25 Tucumán and won stage 8 of the AAT professional circuit.
Lourdes Ayala He is 16 years old and represents the Santa Fe Tennis Federation. The young player has been very active in tournaments on the ITF junior world circuit. So far this year she has won two titles in singles (J3 Cochabamba and J3 La Paz) and another three in doubles, one of them together with Giovannini. In turn, together they were champions of the first AAT National in the category. In 2020 she was part of the South American champion Argentine team in Paraguay and later played the Billie Jean King Cup Junior.
Carla Marcus She is one of the most outstanding players in her category at the national level. She is the last two AAT Nationals champion in singles and champion and finalist in doubles. In J3 Mendoza, she reached the semifinals while in the AAT Professional Circuit she was champion of Stage 9 and finalist of Stage 6.
Lucca Güercio He is 16 years old and was the champion in singles and doubles of the first Minor Nationals. At the international level, he has just won his first title at J5 Curitiba: it was in doubles with Rocco Mariani. Guercio is one of the most outstanding youth players on the National circuit, becoming National Champion in Sub 12, Sub 14 and Sub 16.
Valentin Garay He was precisely Guercio’s partner in the two titles mentioned at the National level. The 15-year-old, in turn, was a finalist in two of the three tournaments in singles. In the international junior circuit he comes from being a semifinalist in the J5 Salta and being a finalist in doubles together with Guercio himself. Garay also knows what it means to represent Argentina, since he was part of the Sub-14 runner-up delegation in the South American Sub-14 2021 and represented the country in the Sub-12 category.
Maximum Zeitune is another member of the men’s team. At 16 years old, he comes from being champion of the third National AAT of minors in high and finalist of the international J5 disputed in the same city. In doubles he was champion of the J5 Salta together with Gonzalo Zeitune, and of the first and second National.
Source and photos: Argentine Tennis Association Press (AAT)
