Argentine tennis swept a South American Games podium: Meet the rising stars

Argentine tennis had its best-ever performance at the Santa Fe 2026 South American Games, winning eight medals and producing the only all-Albiceleste podium.

In the men’s singles competition, the achievement was even greater: Lautaro Midón, Juan Manuel La Serna, and Luciano Ambrogi took gold, silver, and bronze, respectively.

Behind that accomplishment are three careers still taking shape, with plenty of dreams yet to be fulfilled. Midón, from Corrientes, and La Serna, from Misiones, are both 22 and shared much of their development in tennis.

On the clay courts of the Independencia Racecourse oval, they were both teammates and rivals: they won the silver medal in doubles after a tight final against Colombians Juan Sebastián Gómez and Cristian Rodríguez.

The following day, Midón defeated his friend 6-3, 6-2 in the singles final.

The result in Rosario added another chapter to a particularly significant season for both players. In 2025, they were the winners of the first edition of the Galperin Merit Scholarship, a program for Argentine tennis players under 22.

Midón finished first and La Serna second among the players who accumulated the most ATP points in international tournaments held in Argentina that year.

“Beyond the results, I’m taking with me everything this experience has meant. It is an enormous privilege to represent my country and to be Argentine,” said Midón, ranked No. 197 in the ATP rankings.

For La Serna, ranked No. 280 in the world, the medals came just days after he served as a practice partner for the Argentine Davis Cup team during its series against Türkiye in Neuquén, where the team captained by Javier Frana secured qualification for the 2027 Qualifiers with a 3-0 victory.

During that week, the left-handed player from Catamarca trained alongside the members of the team, got an inside look at the dynamics of a series, and began dreaming of being called up in the future.

His time at the Ruca Che arena came after the first major milestone of his career: in May, in Córdoba, he won his first ATP Challenger Tour title. “It is a unique feeling to play for something bigger than yourself. We put our egos aside and supported each other at all times,” La Serna said.

Ambrogi, ranked No. 319 in the ATP rankings, completed the podium. A Rosario native who is also 22, he won his first Challenger title in Tucumán in June. It was the biggest victory of his career to date.

At the Games, Ambrogi lost to La Serna in the semifinals before defeating Venezuela’s John Echeverría to claim bronze. He also returned to the podium alongside Luciana Moyano, with whom he won silver in mixed doubles.

“Representing Argentina is a special feeling that I will carry with me forever. It was crazy that these games were held in Rosario and that I could share this moment with my family and friends,” he said.

There were three other medals for Argentine tennis: Jazmín Ortenzi and Luisina Giovannini won gold by defeating Chile’s Jimar Gerald and Antonia Vergara in the women’s doubles final, while Ortenzi took silver and Luciana Moyano bronze in women’s singles.

The national team was supported by Romina Ottoboni and Gerónimo Degreef as captains and Javier Gil Herrera as fitness coach. All three are members of the Technical Department of the Argentine Tennis Association (AAT, in Spanish).

This edition produced a historic achievement for Argentine tennis. It was the third time the celeste y blanca delegation had won eight medals at the South American Games; the previous occasions were in 1978 and 1998. However, up to 12 medals could be won in those editions, while the maximum in this edition was nine.

“The Santa Fe South American Games leave us with the enormous satisfaction of having seen Argentine tennis play a leading role,” said Eddie Fiumara, sports director of the AAT.

“Behind every medal are players, coaches, working teams, planning, and many hours devoted to developing our tennis players,” he concluded.