From Juan Martin Del Potro and David Nalbandian to the likes of Guillermo Vilas and Guillermo Coria in days gone by, there has been a culture of success throughout Argentine men’s tennis for decades.

Seven Argentine men currently occupy positions in the ATP top 100, led by world No. 21 Francisco Cerundolo, but the women’s game (with only world No. 69 Nadia Podoroska in the WTA’s top 130) appears, on the surface at least, to be trailing behind.

The nation has been searching for its first stand-out female star since former US Open champion Gabriela Sabatini excelled at the top of the sport in the mid-1980s and early 1990s, but the Argentine Tennis Association’s drive to provide more domestic opportunities for women at the lower levels of professional tennis suggests a bright future to come.

The Argentine Tennis Association (AAT) has committed to hosting a record number of women’s tournaments on the ITF World Tennis Tour in 2023 – with 12 tournaments (including eight W25 events and four W15s) taking place this season, as well as a WTA 125 event scheduled for November.

That surpasses the previous record of 10 ITF events held for women in 2011. Just three were staged in 2019 - a measure of how far the nation has come in recent years.

Thirty-seven Argentine women currently have a WTA ranking (a significant increase from the 19 at the turn of 2022) while six of those are now ranked inside the world’s top 300 – the most to break into that elite group in almost 15 years.

Perhaps most excitingly for the federation, the average age of those 37 players is just under 21 years old, with 19 of them aged under 19. Only USA has a higher proportion of WTA-ranked players in the under-19 age group.

The increase in domestic opportunities on the ITF World Tennis Tour is proving a crucial strategy in helping Argentina's female players develop, test themselves against top-level opposition and provide a platform for the best to go on and succeed in the game.

“With our economic situation here, it's very difficult for them to travel to Europe, to the United States. It's very important for us to have these tournaments"

“The reason to have all these tournaments is because they're very important for the younger [players],” says Florencia Labat, herself a former world No. 26 and now vice-president of the Argentine Tennis Association.

“We have a lot of young players, so our federation has decided to organise tournaments and give the possibility to all of them to play in Argentina.

“With our economic situation here, it's very difficult for them to travel, to go to Europe, to the United States, so it's very important for us to have those tournaments.

“[Players] don't have to spend that much money and they can get a ranking, they can get points and, after that, when they have the ranking the situation changes and it will be [easier] for them to start a professional career.

“Our goal is to have at least 12-14 tournaments next year, and [our players can benefit from] all the other tournaments in the region from the countries close to us - Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay and Peru.”

On the women’s side, the ITF World Tennis Tour offers tournaments across six prize money levels – W15, W25, W40, W60, W80 and W100 – to create a pathway for players that leads on to the highest level: the WTA Tour and Grand Slams. For now, the AAT is focused on women’s events at the mid to lower levels.

“We need the smaller tournaments for them to get the ranking to improve and then we will think to make bigger tournaments in the future,” explained Labat.

“For the moment it's good for us to have the W25s. With the rankings our players have… that’s their level at the moment. It’s a process, and they're just starting to be professionals.”

Martina Capurro Taborda, a 25-year-old left hander who honed her skills in college tennis on American soil, is a prime example of the AAT’s strategy in action.

Capurro Taborda leads the women’s ITF World Tennis Tour for titles won in 2023 (along with China’s Wang Yafan), having won five tournaments in South America over the past three months.

Her last two triumphs came on home soil at W25 Bragado and W25 Junin, where she overcame fellow Argentine Solana Sierra – a 19-year-old former junior world No. 7 – in both finals.

"We have more comfort [playing at home], and it's great to feel that way. It's tough for us to travel all the time"

Capurro Taborda began 2023 ranked well outside the WTA top 400 but broke into the top 200 for the first time this week. It’s fair to say she is reaping the rewards of playing six events in her own country this year.

"We have more comfort [playing at home], and it's great to feel that way,” Capurro Taborda reflected. “It's tough for us to travel all the time.

“This year, my coaches and physical trainer accompanied me to the tournaments in Argentina, along with my family and friends, that's another aspect that's enjoyable about playing in Argentina. I live in Buenos Aires, so playing at Hacoaj and River was very convenient for me. My parents and friends could come to support me. Being in your own country is really great."

Though conquered by Capurro Taborda in recent weeks, teenager Sierra is a hugely promising young talent. She finished runner-up in the girls’ singles event at Roland Garros last year and, in recognition of her potential, has been supported with financial grants by the Grand Slam Player Development Programme to accelerate her progress.

But for the world No. 250, the benefits of playing at home extend far beyond simply relieving the costs.

"It's really nice to have your family and team with you in these tournaments"

“My family could accompany me – my parents, my grandmother, my aunt – who don't get to see me very often due to the distance of the tournaments,” Sierra said. “It's really nice to have your family and team with you in these tournaments.”

The AAT’s focus on women’s tennis continues at junior level, which has seen a 25% increase in female participation in national junior tournaments. For the first time in history, there will be eight Argentine events on the ITF World Tennis Tour Juniors calendar this year.

“Our commitment to women's tennis is total and you can see the results,” said Agustín Calleri, AAT President.

“It was the number one priority when we were chosen to lead the Argentine Tennis Association. We quickly appointed a special team to deal with the issue, made up mostly of women who were former professional players and understand the needs of new players. To choose the best dates on the calendar it is very important to talk to them and their coaches.

“We are going to continue working hard to have more and better players in the WTA ranking."