Next year, the Argentine tennis national team will embark on the path towards a new dream, unleashing a new dream: obtaining the title for the second time. Silver salad bowl. the Davis Cup It seems like an obsession on the horizon of young Argentine tennis players, but they know the restrictions imposed on them by physical fitness, the professional calendar and the need to obtain points every season, so as not to give up positions in the international rankings.
That’s why it could bring you the beginning of 2026 Some anxiety For the Argentine captain to form the team to compete in the tournament Playoffs February. The lottery decided that The Argentine national team must travel to South Korea In the midst of the circumstances that Javier Frana He couldn’t ignore the matter he had to start working on in the coming days.
Although Korea does not have top players, it does have tennis players such as Hyun Chung (No. 366 on the ATP), Sanhui Shin (No. 374), Sunwoo Kwon (No. 481 today), and Gerard Campagna Lee (No. 618) – born in Spain to a Spanish father and a Korean mother – who secured a place by defeating Kazakhstan last September.
Sunwoo Kwon reached 52nd place in the world rankings, with his victory over Alexander Zverev and Novak Djokovic, and reached the semi-finals of Australia 2019, but injuries began to postpone him and he stayed away from the ring for two years.
In the period between February 6 and 8 of next year, the Albiceleste players who accept the invitation of the Argentine captain will compete in a city determined by the Korean Federation, in an attempt to qualify for the second round, the qualifying stage for the Davis Cup Finals, which will be played again in Bologna.
The Koreans played their last match at home last September, defeating Alexander Bublik and his teammates, in the city of Chuncheon, which is an hour and a half away from Seoul. On that date in February, Korea is getting cold and snowing, so an indoor court and a fast court will definitely be used with a low and fast bite. What might bother visitors the most. But who are the Argentines who will decide to go to that first call?
The answer is complex and different factors, both pro and con, must be taken into account.
The positive thing is that players are playing tournaments in Oceania on hard surfaces, so they will be close to the region and on similar courts. Moreover, all Argentine tennis players love to represent the country and the group is united and unified.
The negatives are many to consider. The first is the distance to the South America tour (34 hours travel), the start of the trip and the change of surface (hard brick dust).
What is more likely is that Francisco Cerendolo will not be called up And he must be allowed to carry out his agenda, so as not to return to the rankings again, as in 2024. Francisco must defend a total of 365 points on the South American clay court tour: the final of the Argentine Open (165 points) – which starts the day after he faces Davis in Korea – the quarter-final in Rio de Janeiro (100) and the semi-final in Santiago de Chile (100). Losing those points would drop him closer to 40th and he would be out of any possibility of being seeded in the Indian Wells and Miami Masters 1000.
In addition, he has a history of participating in the series against Finland (2023), in Helsinki, where he was injured and ended up having one of the worst starts of his career since approaching the top 20.
Think about that Sebastian Baez (No. 45) to travel to Korea and miss the round in which he defends the title in Rio (500 points) and the final in Santiago de Chile (165), without taking into account the confrontations on this field during the year 2025. It’s very difficult. Sebastian needs to maintain the majority of those points to avoid continuing to fall down the rankings and leaving the top 100.
Yes okay Camilo Ugo Carabelli He was not part of any team in 2025, becoming the third Argentine striker. An injury leading up to the US Open ended up ruling out his subsequent call-up prospects. This Davis Cup series coincides so far from South America and coincides with the tournament dates in Argentina, with the desire of national tennis players to participate in this first invitation. Camilo defends his title against his opponent, Rosario (125 points), who will play in the same week as the Davis Cup qualifiers. In the Argentine Open, he had a quick farewell, but he reached the semifinals in Rio de Janeiro (213 points) and Santiago de Chile (100 points), with a total of 395 points, which is necessary to avoid returning to 86th place in the world rankings.
And here begins the area of conviction in which the Argentine captain can achieve greater success, because Tommy Etchevery He loves being part of the team. In fact, he has not missed a match since his debut in 2024 against Kazakhstan, in Rosario. He then traveled to Manchester, then to the finals in Malaga, competing in Norway, the Netherlands and now in Bologna. There may be doubts about whether the coach of the player coming from La Plata will agree to waive part of the competitions held on clay courts. Both Etcheverry and Cerúndolo can play on any surface, but it’s all about planning and needs. Tommy He needs to climb back up the rankings to get back into the top 30, and the Davis Cup has always been a good boost for him, but we will have to see how the captain’s word affects a player’s annual planning.
There’s almost no doubt about it Francisco Comisaña He will gladly accept a new call from Javier Vrana, especially if he guarantees that he is one of the first two singles players, beyond his desire and need for points. Something similar could happen with Mariano Navonewho was also part of one of Vrana’s bands in Norway.
With regard to the formation of doubles there is Horacio Zeballos It will depend on the planning you do Marcel Granollerswho does not have that burning desire to represent Spain, as his country’s national team will only make its debut in September. while Andres Molteni He seems more determined to participate in that invitation. Perhaps, taking into account the competitors, although we should not neglect them, it may appear Guido Andreozzi– He has a good level in the doubles ring as a member of the Argentine duo in the event of any absence.
As we saw, The task will not be easy for Javier Vrana before the qualifiers next February, and the situation is exacerbated by the overlap of dates with tournaments that are sensitive to the characteristics and priorities of Argentine tennis players.who want to play Davis Cup, who love to be part of the team, but, as they say, sometimes necessity has a heretical side.
The Argentine captain will have two months of fully convincing work, he will converge on the Australian Open and will try to go to the city chosen by South Korea, with three of his singles players who occupy a place in the list of the top 100 players in the world.