Buenos Aires 2026 (ATP 250)
(9 - 15 February) The Buenos Aires marks the start of the clay season, featuring slow courts and conditions that reward clay specialists and well-acclimated players arriving from recent clay.
Among the Tour's Slowest Clay Courts
This is my preview of the Buenos Aires ATP 250 (IEB + Argentina Open). You’ll find links to the main draw and the qualies draw at the end of this email.
According to data from the last three years, Buenos Aires is among the slowest tournaments on tour.
Speed Statistics
In terms of court speed data, this is the average of the last five 5 years:
- 65.1% Points won on the first serve
- 71.3% Service Holds
- 0.21 Aces/Game
- 0.12 TB/Set
Past Winners
2025: Fonseca d. F. Cerundolo
2024: Díaz Acosta d. Jarry
2023: Alcaraz d. Norrie
2022: Ruud d. Schwartzman
2021: Schwartzman d. F. Cerundolo
David Ferrer has lifted this trophy 3 times. Ruud, Thiem and Carlos Moya did it twice.
Weather
Buenos Aires next week looks hot and fairly humid, with daytime highs mostly 25–33°C (77–91°F) and nights around 18–22°C (65–72°F), plus a higher storm risk mid-to-late week. Hourly forecasts show humidity swinging roughly from ~40% in the hotter afternoon hours up to ~75% overnight/early morning. Winds are generally light-to-moderate, roughly 10–30 km/h (7–18 mph) with gusts up to ~35–43 km/h (22–27 mph) depending on the day.
As the weather will be important, here’s a link where you can check the forecast for the next few hours — it updates automatically:
https://www.timeanddate.com/weather/argentina/buenos-aires/hourly
Player Statements
Fonseca, 2025: "Everything moves very quickly here, the ball bounces a lot. I managed to be aggressive; I had some strategic guidelines with my coach, but it's crucial to stay strong against an Argentine, considering that the public also plays a role during the match, which is normal."
Díaz Acosta, 2024: "Really tough match. Conditions were so humid and the rain in the morning made it tough to hit winners."
Thiem, 2023: “I felt well from the first moment I played here in 2016. The conditions, the balls, court and the stadium, they all fit well with my game. Also, having won two titles here, the confidence is always a little bit higher.”
Schwartzman, 2022: “In Cordoba the [slight altitude] conditions cost me but I feel better here [in Buenos Aires]. I do feel more comfortable when it comes to training and being able to carry on day to day. This week I hope to play better tennis."
Carballes Baena, 2021: “I really like the conditions in Buenos Aires, which are very different from Cordoba. I feel the ball a little better because it is a little slower.”
Lajovic, 2023: “The match was much harder than the score shows. It was also different conditions tonight, it was much slower and it was difficult to finish the points.”
Summary
Expect very slow playing conditions: heavy clay, heat, and possible gusty winds.
This setup tends to reward clay-first profiles and penalize players adjusting from faster surfaces.
Track who arrives from Davis Cup on a different surface versus players coming off clay Challengers — they should be better acclimated.
Draws
Here’s the link to the Qualies and Main draws — you can check it anytime to follow the latest updates and see which players advance through each round:
Qualies: https://www.protennislive.com/posting/2026/506/qs.pdf
Main Draw: https://www.protennislive.com/posting/2026/506/mds.pdf
