Why doesn't the Buenos Aires tournament have an ATP 500 category?

Jose Morón | 13 Feb 2025 | 19.00

Why does the Buenos Aires tournament not have ATP 500 status?

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With the upgrading of the Dallas, Munich, and Doha tournaments to ATP 500 status, many wondered why a tournament as beloved by the public as the one in Buenos Aires did not have the same fate. The ATP has always been blamed for the lack of good treatment for tournaments in South America, and statements from some tennis players have led the general public to believe that everything is due to the ATP. However, that is not the case.

As always, to understand the real situation of something, it is important to know all sides, not just one involved. At Punto de Break, we have been able to firsthand learn the reasons why the Buenos Aires tournament has remained a 250 and has not been upgraded to ATP 500. But before delving into that specific case, it's important to explain what has led to some tournaments being upgraded in 2025.

Scheduling issues

For a long time, the ATP Calendar has been a topic of debate among all involved parties. In an effort to ease the calendar, the ATP proposed reducing the number of ATP 250 tournaments by allowing two ATP 250s to combine and create an ATP 500 from that merger. With this option on the table, several tournaments started moves towards upgrading.

The Dallas and Atlanta tournaments belonged to the same owner, so they acquired the 500 license by merging both tournaments, eliminating Atlanta from the schedule and keeping Dallas. In the case of Doha, the owners acquired the Newport tournament and were able to combine them, leading Doha to become an ATP 500, while the Munich tournament entered a partnership with Lyon to assume the new category, resulting in Lyon's disappearance.

So, why didn't this happen in Buenos Aires? They did not submit the requirement by not partnering with anyone. As we have learned, Buenos Aires had been in negotiations with Newport to merge both tournaments, but Doha came in strongly and improved the Argentine proposal. Thus, by not presenting the project, Buenos Aires remained in the same ATP 250 category. It’s as simple as that. It has nothing to do with financial resources, facilities, or anything similar. Buenos Aires couldn't submit the requirement or partner with another tournament for the category upgrade.

The ATP has no influence on these kinds of decisions regarding the upgrade of a tournament's category, as, as we have explained, this is driven by the tournaments themselves and their submission of the required request.

And this leads us to another question: Could Buenos Aires be upgraded in the future? With the release of the ATP Calendar for 2026, we have seen that the tournament will remain a 250 next year. For the following years, indications suggest it is unlikely that more 500 tournament upgrades will occur. It’s not entirely ruled out, but it seems quite challenging to expect this to happen in the short to medium term.

Tough week in the 2026 calendar for Buenos Aires

In the 2026 ATP Calendar, there was something that caught a lot of attention and raised some criticism towards the ATP as the Buenos Aires tournament was placed in the same week as Rotterdam and Dallas, two ATP 500 tournaments that are likely to attract a significant number of top players. This is not only due to the prizes (an ATP 500 can offer better contracts and prize money than a 250), but also because they are played on hard courts, the same surface on which Indian Wells and Miami will be played in March.

It is understandable that the public may think this is unfair treatment of South American tournaments by the ATP. However, as we mentioned at the beginning, it is important to understand the reasons behind everything and what leads the ATP to make the decision to place Buenos Aires alongside Rotterdam and Dallas, when it would typically be scheduled the following week.

For 2026, the Australian Open will start a week later than usual. This leaves only 16 weeks between Australia and Roland Garros, while the usual timeframe is 17 weeks. The Grand Slams are not controlled by the ATP but rather make their own decisions in collaboration with the ITF, which is why in 2025 the US Open will have an additional day, and Australia, after going from 14 to 15 days, is even considering adding another day of competition. With Australia's decision, the ATP ended up with one less week for tournaments in this part of the calendar.

As a result, there are only four weeks between Australia and Indian Wells, instead of the usual five. This has had a significant impact on the tournaments held during this time of year. Out of these four weeks, one is reserved for the Davis Cup, leaving the ATP with only three weeks to schedule different tournaments, creating a very tight schedule. The Marseille tournament, for example, has been moved to October due to lack of space.

To avoid harming the South American clay court swing and having two tournaments in the same week (imagine if Buenos Aires and Rio were held simultaneously), the ATP decided to place one of these tournaments in each of the three weeks. Consequently, Buenos Aires is scheduled in week 6, alongside Rotterdam and Dallas, Rio in week 7, alongside Doha and Delray Beach, and Santiago in week 8, alongside Acapulco and Dubai.

As we mentioned earlier, it is important to listen to all parties involved to understand the reality behind certain decisions. With this, it is clear what has happened and why the Buenos Aires tournament has not been able to upgrade its category recently. Hopefully, in the future, the people of Buenos Aires can enjoy an even better tournament with a higher category than the current one.