Hugo Gaston beats Jozef Kovalik in the qualifying round

Hugo GastonFrench, number 101 at the ATP, won by 6-4, 5-7 and 6-2 in two hours and thirty-four minutes, the Slovak player Jozef KovalikATP number 133, in the previous qualifying round of the ATP 250 tournament at Buenos Aires. With this result, we will continue to see the player in the next phase of the ATP 250 tournament in Buenos Aires.

at the tournament Buenos Aires (ATPBuenos Aires) a preliminary qualification phase takes place where the lowest ranked tennis players must achieve the highest score possible in order to participate in the official tournament. During this part of the competition, more precisely, 40 tennis players participate. A total of 24 players in total advance to the final phase among those who qualify directly, those who managed to win in the previous rounds of the tournament and those who are invited. In addition, it takes place between February 11 and 19 on outdoor clay.

A century-old sport

Tennis is unquestionably a classic sport. Each year, four tournaments (called “Grand Slams”) attract all the attention of the world: the season begins with the Open Australiacontinue with the dirt track of Roland Garrosthen moves to London with the celebration of Wimbledon and finally closes in the United States with the U.S. Open.

Throughout the rest of the year, players continue to compete around the world, completing seasons on different surfaces: hard or fast track, clay oh grass.

tennis was born in Europe at the end of the 18th century and since 1926 it is a professional sports, the date the tour was created. It was particularly popular among the upper classes in English-speaking countries, but today it is a world sport. Divides into categories: the male (ATP) and female (WTA) competition.

ATP

There ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) is the association of professional tennis players which brings together players from all over the world in the men’s category.

The ATP circuit organizes several tournaments throughout the year: ATP Masters 1000 (if a player wins the tournament, he will get 1000 points to add to the ATP ranking), ATP 500 and ATP 250. Below these tournaments, in a lower echelon would be the ATP Challenger Tour, where future stars compete world tennis. . In addition, the association also takes care of the Grand Slams.

The fight to be the best in history does not stop in the men’s category. The Spaniard Raphael Nadalhe Serbian Novak Djokovic and the Swiss Roger Federer they compete to improve all records and accumulate the most Grand Slam tournaments. The three players are often called ‘big three‘ in front of the new generations or ‘Next Gen’.

These new future tennis stars have stormed onto the world tennis circuit, as in the case of the Greek Stefanos Tsitsipasfrom Italian Matthew Berretinigerman Alexander Zverev or the russians Medvedev there Rublev.

Novak Djokovic currently holds the record for weeks at number 1 in the ATP rankings, closely followed by Roger Federer, the legendary American player Pete Sampras, Iván Lendl and Jimmy Connors.

WTA

There WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) was founded in 1973 by the famous former tennis player Billie Jean King. The Californian has won 39 Grand Slam titles during her active phase and is a reference and an icon for the world of tennis.

Currently, many tennis players in the women’s category are fighting to stay at the top of the world tennis elite and surpass Stefanie Graff or Serena Williams. Players like the Polish Iga Swiatek (Roland Garros champion in 2021), the Greek Maria Sakkari oh Paula Badosa (the first Spanish winner of Indian Wells) are fighting to stay in the famous top 10 of the WTA rankings.

In the year 2022, the Australian tennis player Asleigh Barty announced his final retirement from the world of tennis and left behind an impressive career with several Grand Slam tournaments behind him. Now is the chance for other players to take over and become number 1.