After almost eight years at the helm Argentine Tennis Association (AAT), Agustín Calleri announced that he would run for a third term. In dialogue with InfobaeThe company’s president assessed the national tennis season and talked about the future of management. He also drew a comparison between the current generation of tennis players and those of the Argentine Legion, of which he was a member.
The day required staying in the shade, cool water and light clothing. Calleri, the current president of the AAT, approached with his usual smile and the Cordoba accent that has accompanied him since his birth 49 years ago. Friendly, verbose, with a well-groomed hairstyle, member of two teams in the Davis Cup final (2006 and 2008), No. 16 in the world rankings, He has led the mother institution of Argentine tennis for almost eight years. He holds out his hand in greeting, quickens a joke (he’s from Córdoba, it’s in his blood), sits down, gets serious and the interview begins.
– Agustín, Christmas and New Year are just around the corner and it’s time to take stock. What was 2025 like for the AAT?
– I think it was positive. We do not evaluate based on a sporting result, such as the Davis Cup or the Billie Jean King Cup. We think about everything and the truth is that it was a very good year. We ran the tournaments we had planned, we added women’s tournaments, and the number of Challengers ended up reaching a season record (7). We are doing well economically, which is no small feat. That was our goal: to be solvent, to no longer have a deficit and to be able to complete as many tournaments as possible, both for men and women. The number of minors continues to grow, the number of people playing tennis continues to increase, and leading companies around the world continue to choose us. We have become a reputable association and have products that only a few have.
– Argentina has seven players in the top 100 today, but they don’t have a particularly good figure. Is tennis even sellable?
– Very salable, because today there are a number of products that you didn’t have before and a number of players that you didn’t have before. Today’s children are very open-minded, when you ask them to activate, they have no “buts”. Then everything will be much easier because we also need them so that brands want to be with us. Our players are the jewels, the protagonists, the beautiful ones. Without their good nature, both men and women, it would cost us more.
– Why do you think this is happening?
– It has to do with the fact that we were also players and speak the same language. In comparison, we were a little more difficult back then. But these guys pave the way for us, they make it a lot easier.
– You were their idols…
– Yes, so that you feel comfortable with us. Even though we know that it is our job to be leaders and we do not interfere in their everyday lives or in the Davis Cup. We do not interfere in decisions made by the captains or coaching staff. They go one way and the leader goes the other. You have to create this harmony.
– Did you find this harmony in Frana?
– No, I believe that every captain has his advantages and disadvantages. I think Javier has a lot of experience and a peace of mind that the years have given him. We were all players and experienced it differently because we were there. I believe that in Javier we find a balance between the knowledge and the composure that he offers on and off the pitch.. With him, the boys have a peace of mind that other captains, I don’t know, have created. They are very comfortable, they are fine. We went out to eat together, which was unheard of in our day. What happens is that it’s different when you have a relationship that’s closer in age. They also see you as a player. They ask us things, we laugh, we tell anecdotes and sometimes they can’t believe it.
– Agustín, you have been in office for eight years, you are finishing your second term…
– And we’ll do the third one.
– Are you coming back?
– Yes.
– Isn’t management tiring?
– No, it doesn’t get tiring because when you form a team, you let them play and do things well, you don’t get tired. On the contrary, they pave the way for you.
– Do you have a winning team? It is often said that the winning team is not touched.
– Yes, of course! But things may change. Maybe someone is hurt (they laugh and takes a break) or they are tired and want to take a break. This is common among owners.
– What is the carrot that makes you want a third term?
– I don’t know if there is a carrot… we want to continue to promote what we have done. Increase the number of tournaments if the ATP and WTA calendar allows it. We want to continue to expand this sport, continue to grow with youth tennis and support juniors. One goal we have, which we know is not easy but which we will insist on, is to continue to bring tennis into schools so that this sport can grow much more. On the other hand, I believe that we give the AAT an advantage that allows it to have a different global approach. That’s what it gives us to be players. It allows us to have a direct relationship with the President of the WTA and the President of the ATP. He thought (Andrea) Gaudenzi was playing with me, you know? This is a very important plus point that was not there before, did not exist.
– When you started managing, there were some voices that didn’t entirely agree with you. Do you see greater acceptance of clubs today?
– I think so. I understand that we have managed to change this thinking. Maybe it was more of an opinion born of ignorance. They told us, “You won’t work together because you’ve already sorted your life out.” And the truth is that we show the opposite: commitment and work. Look, in 2008, when we were still players, we told Arturo Grimaldi and him insect Romani, the AAT leaders at the time, said that we didn’t like the boys’ competition format and that we were seeing fewer and fewer boys playing, less and less in the minor category. When we took office we had turned the pyramid upside down. That means there are few minors and many more veterans. So we started to flip the pyramid by making some changes in regionalization so that kids travel less and also spend less. So that a boy from Jujuy doesn’t have to travel 1,200 kilometers to play in Misiones. Therefore we include a little more of the NOA, the Litoral and Cuyo. In addition, our Minister of the Interior, Juan Pérez (President of the Cordoba Federation), constantly meets with the presidents of the other federations and exchanges their opinions.
– One structure they reversed was that of women. Before it was an obelisk and…
– And it became a solid pyramid again. When we started managing there were less than 20 players with points, only one in the top 500. Now we have almost 30 in the rankings and 10 in the top 500. We had no player in the top 250 and now we have five. We got players back into the top 100 and we had three in that circle, something that hadn’t happened in 14 years. In Argentina, women’s participation in tournaments increased by 58%, which is very encouraging in terms of development and growth. Nowadays there are just as many girls playing as boys and that wasn’t the case before.
– Nowadays there seems to be no opposition, but sometimes there is criticism.
– We don’t know if there is resistance or not, but we listen to criticism and take it into account. We have a horizon, a goal that we want to achieve.
– What was the idea of ending the year with Tennis Week?
– It’s the first time we’re doing it. I believe that this has never been done so that the minors, the veterans and the first interclubs with professional tennis players play in the same place in the same week. It was an idea that came to me Black (Mariano Zabaleta, Vice President of the AAT) to make the tennis week great. But we needed a large space with cement courts. In Vicente López, the Air Force Circle was born, a place where we can do anything. I think it’s a format that is good and will stay. The senior player who comes to his game can stay to watch a professional tennis player of the first division.
– Mercedes Paz has left the captaincy of the women’s team. Have you defined the replacement?
– Not yet, but we’re talking about it internally. We have time and we don’t want to rush it.
– Are you having a hard time coming up with a name?
– The thing is wick He’s been there since we arrived. She was captain for seven years and did a very good job the entire time. Never before had anyone been at the top of the national team for so long, neither for men nor for women. And that doesn’t mean that even though she’s no longer captain, she’s no longer part of this team. He will be there, he will always be by my side. It helps a lot with the WTA, with the coaches, with the Tucumán tournament.
– Do you like Jaite for the position?
– He has already spent some time with Billie. What happened is that at that time Martín was not as active as he is today, with so much responsibility and so many tournaments. We have time, that’s the good thing. Billie’s next appointment is in April and we will not make a hasty decision.
The microphone is turned off, Calleri relaxes a little, takes a sip of water and goes back to the jokes. He takes a few steps, wants to enjoy the week of tennis, but they interrupt him, the greetings begin and the meetings return, “but let’s go to the shade. Some water?”
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