For much of 2024, Sebastián Báez was Argentina’s top tennis player. 

The 24-year-old broke into the ATP singles rankings top 20 in March, after winning back-to-back ATP Tour titles in Rio de Janeiro and Santiago. Such was his dominance that he sat fifth that month in the Race To Turin, the calendar year ranking which grants spots in the ATP Finals. With 16 wins under his belt, he was the player with the most wins at that stage in the season.

Injuries and a few bad results slowed his meteoric rise, but he’s still a keen favorite at the 2025 Argentina Open.

The Herald spoke to him about his Malvinas War veteran father’s influence, his relationship with Argentine tennis star Juan Martín del Potro, and what he needs to start winning major world tournaments.

Your father’s life story is marked by the Malvinas War and then sustaining a family as a working-class man. How do you feel that influenced your life and career?

I feel the biggest lesson I learned from him and his experiences in the Malvinas is knowing he’s always been a fighter. Of course, it wasn’t his choice to leave everything in his life to go fight for the country. But he did teach me that everything comes with sacrifice, and that things eventually come your way, even if you have to suffer for them. 

You always have to give it your all, regardless of what happens. After that, you can think it over, but it’s important to give 100%, so you can live with yourself afterwards.

How did your relationship with Juan Martin del Potro begin, and how did he help you? 

We met through [Báez’s coach] Sebastián Gutierrez. He always had a good relationship with him after the 2016 Davis Cup, because he was part of the staff when Del Potro played. I used that to get talking to him. 

When I was taking my first steps at Challenger level and the Davis Cup, it helped to be able to count on him, to ask him any questions and get his advice. They were really great conversations, which I remember fondly.

Nowadays we don’t talk as much, but I always wanted him to retire the way he wanted, and not have it dictated by his body and injuries, so I’m happy he got to do so.

You have had great performances in 2023 and 2024, but you’re yet to make it in the Grand Slams and Masters. Where do you feel you need to improve to make that leap?

I think it has to do with maturity, and growing up. You understand a lot of things, not just on the court but off it as well. Not all games are won on the court. Some are played outside of it too. I think it has more to do with your personal growth and self-confidence than with anything tennis-related. 

Tennis-wise, it’s clear from what’s happened in tournaments where I’ve done a good job. Being in my fourth year on the tour, I’m always among the best. So it’s not a matter of playing level and technique, but one of maturing, and that’s something you gain with experience and age. [2025 Argentina Open star] Alexander Zverev was great at Masters 1000 but struggled on the Grand Slams, so it happens to a lot of players.

You’re facing Thiago Seyboth Wild in the next round, with the crowd on your side. What changes when you play in such a charged atmosphere? Would you prefer to play another Argentine?

I don’t mind either way. I always try to remove myself from that, because the fans aren’t the ones playing the match. It’s one on one on court, and that’s it. Perhaps playing here in Buenos Aires, being the home player, I’d rather not play an Argentine because you can feel the divide in the fans. 

Facing Thiago, it becomes an Argentina-Brazil match, so there will always be some rivalry and the fans will be with me. But [Seyboth Wild and I] know each other well, so we can’t disrespect each other, because the sportsmanship will go out the window.

Editorial disclaimer: Although the UK refers to the territory as the “Falklands Islands,” Argentina strongly contests this name. The Buenos Aires Herald uses “Malvinas” to refer to the islands.