The team led by Javier Frana lost in Busan to the Asian side and will have to play for their place in September
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Argentina's National Tennis Team was eliminated this Sunday in the first round of the 2026 Qualifiers of the Davis Cup after losing 3-2 to South Korea as the visiting team in Busan. With a roster made up entirely of debutants and after a very tight series, the team captained by Javier Frana was not able to maintain the partial lead and will have to play to remain in the group in September.
After a balanced first day, with a victory by Thiago Tirante (No. 95) and a defeat for Marco Trungelliti (No. 134), the series reached Sunday's decider tied at 1-1. At the start of the second day, Argentina took a key step thanks to the doubles, since Guido Andreozzi (No. 31 in doubles) and Federico Gómez (No. 134 in doubles) defeated Ji Sung Nam (No. 164 in doubles) and Uising Park (No. 248 in doubles) 6-3, 7-5, to make it 2-1 and restore hope for the national team.
Argentina perdió 3-2 con Corea del Sur
However, the hosts replied in the remaining singles. In the fourth point, Tirante, the best Argentine player who traveled, was not able to maintain his level against Soon-Woo Kwon (No. 343) and lost in three sets. With the series tied at 2-2, the outcome was left in the hands of Trungelliti, who was beaten by Hyeon Chung (No. 392) 6-4 and 6-3, a result that sealed the home victory by 3-2.
The elimination was marked by a complex context for the Argentine team. The rescheduling of the calendar ordered by the ITF, which delayed this round by one week compared to 2025, created an overlap with the Challenger de Rosario and the start of the Argentina Open that left the country's best players out, in addition to an exhausting trip of almost 40 hours to Busan. On top of that, at the last minute, there was the withdrawal due to an injury to Andrés Molteni, who was replaced by Juan Pablo Ficovich.
Argentina tenía un plantel condicionado por las bajas y el largo viaje a Busan
After the defeat, Argentina will be part of the group of national teams that in September will have to play to remain in the group against one of the teams that advanced from World Group I. The matchup will be determined by a draw and the possible opponents include Finland, Switzerland, China, Chinese Taipei, New Zealand, Monaco, Lithuania, Türkiye, Poland, and Paraguay. Meanwhile, some ties still remain to be decided: Morocco - Colombia, Greece - Mexico, and Luxembourg - Ukraine.
The winner of that play-off will return to play the Qualifiers in 2027, while the loser will have to start the path again from World Group I, with an eye on 2028.
