Juan Martín del Potro stands once again among the elite candidates for the International Tennis Hall of Fame, appearing on the ballot for the Class of 2027 after narrowly missing selection in the previous voting cycle, El Eco reported. The institution announced the new candidate list on Sunday, placing the 2009 US Open champion alongside Australian former world number one Ashleigh Barty and four-time Grand Slam winner Svetlana Kuznetsova in the player category.
For Del Potro, the nomination offers a renewed bid for induction into the Newport, Rhode Island museum following a 2026 ballot cycle where Swiss great Roger Federer took the singular player spot. Candidates must be retired for at least five years to qualify, a threshold Del Potro and Barty both cleared following their respective retirements in 2022, as noted by Puntodebreak.
Public Voting Rules and The 75 Percent Threshold
The International Tennis Hall of Fame opened its public voting window through its official website, with polls scheduled to remain active until Sunday, October 25. Fans participating in the digital ballot help shape the outcome, as the candidates who secure the most public support receive bonus percentage points added to the final tallies cast by an official voting committee of specialized journalists, historians, and Hall members.
To secure induction into the Class of 2027, any nominee must achieve a minimum threshold of 75 percent approval, whether through the official committee ballots or via the combined scoring system incorporating fan participation. La Nación reported that the popular voting structure evaluates each candidate independently for approval rather than pitting nominees directly against one another. Official results are set to be announced in November.
Career Achievements and Major Milestones
Del Potro built one of the most decorated résumés in Argentine tennis history, highlighted by 22 professional singles titles and a career-high ranking of world number three, which he achieved in 2018. His crowning individual moment arrived in September 2009 at Flushing Meadows, where he outlasted Roger Federer in a five-set thriller to capture the US Open crown. He returned to the major stage nearly a decade later, reaching the 2018 US Open final before falling to Novak Djokovic.
Beyond his Grand Slam success, Del Potro claimed two Olympic medals for Argentina, earning bronze at the London 2012 Games and silver at the Rio de Janeiro 2016 Games after a hard-fought final against Great Britain’s Andy Murray. He also led the Argentine team to its historic first Davis Cup title in 2016, securing an enduring legacy in international team competition.
Compares And Contrasts On The 2027 Ballot
The 2027 player ballot features three prominent modern stars alongside Japanese wheelchair tennis icon Shingo Kunieda, a four-time Paralympic gold medalist and 28-time Grand Slam champion in the wheelchair division, according to La Nación. In the singles player category, Del Potro and Barty anchor the field alongside Kuznetsova.
While Kuznetsova captured four major titles—including singles crowns at the 2004 US Open and the 2009 French Open alongside two Grand Slam doubles victories—Puntodebreak noted that the global impact and historical rivalry of Del Potro against the dominant “Big Three” era alongside Barty’s dominant run as a multi-slam champion and world number one position them as central figures in the upcoming vote. If Del Potro secures the necessary support, he will follow Guillermo Vilas (inducted in 1991) and Gabriela Sabatini (inducted in 2006) as only the third Argentine player enshrined in Newport.
Should any nominated player fail to reach the required 75 percent threshold in this cycle, the rules dictate that they remain on the official ballot for the subsequent two consecutive years, a procedural safeguard that currently applies to both Del Potro and Kuznetsova following the 2026 results.
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