PETE ZIEBRON
Argentine #2 Gisela Dulko Pete Ziebron Images
Beginning in 2013, the WTA will return to Brazil for the first time in 11 years. The tournament, which does not yet have a venue nor a date, will be the second WTA tournament on the South American continent, joining the Copa BBVA Colsanitas tournament played in Bogota, Colombia in February.
Since only 1 WTA event is hosted in South America, the top players tend to skip the event in Bogota. In fact, the tournament's #1 seed in 2012 was world #56 Marina Erakovic of New Zealand. The addition of Brazil next year on the WTA slate will help to build the anticipation for the 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janiero.
To date, the highest ranked South American on the WTA Tour is Paula Ormaechea of Argentina at #120. Countrywoman Gisela Dulko, seeded at Grand Slams not too long ago, has slipped to #128 in the world in singles.
The Top 5 South Americans on the WTA Tour are:
- #120 Paula Ormaecha Argentina
- #128 Gisela Dulko Argentina
- #139 Marina Duque-Marino Colombia
- #170 Florencia Molinero Argentina
- #203 Veronica Cepede Royg Paraguay
Argentine #3 Florencia Molinero Pete Ziebron Images
The only South American woman to win a major title was Gabriela Sabatini of Argentina. Gaby won the 1990 US Open, 27 singles titles, 2 WTA Year End Championships, reached a career high of world #3 and won the Silver Medal at the Seoul Summer Games in 1988.
Sixteen South Americans reside in the ATP Top 150. However, the tennis year for these players must seem to be a very long road trip each and every year as only 2 ATP tournaments are held on the South American continent.
Immediately following the Australian Open, the VTR Open in Vine del Mar, Chile takes place. Following the opening round of Davis Cup action, the Brasil Open, the second and last ATP tournament of the year in South America is hosted by Sao Paulo.
With the exception of hosting a Davis Cup tie, tennis fans in South America rarely get a live glimpse of the best players in the world as a result of the fact that the sport concludes play on the continent in mid-February each year.
Argentine #1 Juan Martin del Potro Pete Ziebron Images
South Americans in the ATP Top 150
- #10 Juan Martin del Potro Argentina
- #16 Juan Monaco Argentina
- #32 Juan Ignacio Chela Argentina
- #37 Carlos Berlocq Argentina
- #45 Thomaz Bellucci Brazil
- #50 David Nalbandian Argentina
- #55 Santiago Giraldo Colombia
- #56 Alejandro Falla Colombia
- #73 Leonardo Mayer Argentina
- #102 Joao Souza Brazil
- #116 Rogerio Dutra Silva Brazil
- #117 Horacio Zeballos Argentina
- #119 Paul Capdeville Chile
- #123 Diego Junquiera Argentina
- #131 Ricardo Mello Brazil
- #146 Frederico Delbonis Argentina
Argentine #2 Juan Monaco Pete Ziebron Images
The ATP held the inagural ATP Challenger Tour Finals last November in Sao Paulo, Brazil. However, the website for the event is only available in Portuguese: 2011 ATP Challenger Finals
As of today, April 2, 2012, the ATP Challenger calendar only lists events until June 25, 2012, so it is not known if the 2012 ATP Challenger Tour Finals will be held, or where they may be contested.
Perhaps some day in the near future, the ATP World Tour Finals, as well as the WTA Championships can be held on the continent of South America. The players as well as the passionate tennis fans in South America deserve to host these events.
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