Argentinian tennis player Sebastián Báez (45th in the ATP rankings) was defeated tonight by the Ecuadorian Álvaro Guillen Meza (200th) in the first round of the ATP Challenger in Montevideo. The match lasted just over two hours, with Báez losing 6-7 (3/7), 4-6. Guillen Meza will advance to the round of 16 against the Paraguayan Daniel Vallejo (169th).
Thus, Báez brings to a close a 2025 season that left many debts and was filled with disappointments. The only acceptable part of his year was a South American clay-court swing, where a semifinal in the Rosario Challenger and a second-round appearance at the Argentina Open preceded his championship at the ATP 500 in Rio de Janeiro, his only title of the year, which allowed him to defend the most points he had to.
After his triumph in Brazil, a decline followed. Báez had a poor hard-court season in Indian Wells and Miami, failing to get past the first round in either tournament. Poor results continued on other major events. His only win at the Masters 1000 level came when he defeated Belgian David Goffin in Cincinnati, but he fell in the second round.
The final tally for the Argentine was a 17-24 record at the ATP level. Of those 17 wins, only four came from May to November. His fall in the rankings, which began after the final in Santiago, continued. If he started the year as the world No. 28, he ended it at No. 45.
For the upcoming year, Báez has two major concerns: he must defend 500 points at the Rio de Janeiro tournament (he currently has 1,155 points) and he is no longer seeded in ATP-level tournaments, meaning he will not be able to receive a bye into the second round of some events unless he climbs back up the rankings.
"This new and painful defeat has once again shaken Báez's season," the text reads. "He will now have to think about resting and having a good pre-season in order to re-establish himself as a competitive player at the ATP level, as he was until last year."
