BUENOS AIRES/STARNBERG, January 11, 2026
With the qualifying and main draws now set, the Argentine Tennis Club (Tenis Club Argentino) will officially launch the 2026 international tennis season in the country this Sunday, hosting both the AAT Challenger 50 men’s event and the ITF World Tennis Tour W50 tournament, organized by the Argentine Tennis Association (AAT).
AAT Challenger 50 – TCA Edition
The first confirmations came with the announcement of the qualifying wild cards, which were awarded to four young Argentine players: Joel Navarro, Thiago Pernas, Nicolás García Longo and Valentín Guadagno. In the main draw, Luciano Ambrogi, who had initially received a wild card, gained direct entry via his ranking, freeing up a spot that was subsequently allocated to Alexis Gurmendi.
Qualifying will be led by top seed Juan Estevez (ATP No. 469) from 25 de Mayo, Buenos Aires. The 20-year-old enjoyed an outstanding second half of the season on the ITF Pro Circuit, capturing four M15 titles, and will face Valentín Guadagno in his opening match. In addition to these two, 11 more Argentine players will compete in qualifying in a bid to reach the main draw.
The main draw has also been finalized and will feature at least 15 Argentine players. Top seed Santiago Rodríguez Taverna (ATP No. 224) will begin his campaign against Romania’s Gabi Adrian Boitan, while second seed Lautaro Midón (ATP No. 232) will face a qualifier. The 21-year-old from Corrientes enjoyed an excellent 2025 season, winning the M25 events in Luján and Yerba Buena, reaching the final of the Santa Fe Challenger, and earning the Galperin Merit Scholarship as Argentina’s best-performing under-21 player of the year.
First-round action, starting Monday afternoon, will also include several high-profile matchups such as Juan Bautista Torres vs. Juan Manuel La Serna, Luciano Ambrogi vs. Andrea Collarini, and Peru’s Juan Pablo Varillas taking on Argentina’s Gonzalo Villanueva.
W50 Buenos Aires
Running in parallel with the Challenger, the qualifying rounds of the W50 Buenos Aires will also begin on Sunday at the Palermo venue of the Tenis Club Argentino. The event marks the first ITF World Tennis Tour tournament of the year in Argentina.
The qualifying draw will feature 32 players, 20 of them Argentine. Wild cards for qualifying have been awarded to Luciana Agudelo, Valentina Rossi, Katia Gabotto, Caira Vega and Ornela Mondati. The qualifying competition will be played over two rounds on Sunday and Monday.
The main draw will be made on Sunday and will be headlined by Brazil’s Carolina Meligeni Alves (WTA No. 245) as the top seed. The Argentine players already confirmed in the main draw are Victoria Bosio (No. 386), Florencia Urrutia (No. 483), Carla Markus (No. 497), Justina González Daniele (No. 636) and Berta Bonardi (No. 654).
Este domingo a las 10:00 hs se pondrá en marcha la temporada de Tenis Argentino 2026
♂️ AAT Challenger edición TCA
W50 Buenos Aires pic.twitter.com/JPN9Ohcg95— Asociación Argentina de Tenis (@AATenis) January 11, 2026
