MELBOURNE – Sebastián Báez, Argentina’s No. 2 singles player, revealed that he was not considered to represent his country in the upcoming Davis Cup tie. Captain Javier Frana did not contact him.
“They didn’t call me,” Báez told CLAY in Melbourne.
“If they had called me, I obviously would have thought about it. I love representing Argentina, just like I did at the United Cup,” added the seven-time ATP title winner, who has started 2026 in outstanding form: wins over Taylor Fritz, Stan Wawrinka and Jaume Munar in Perth, a final in Auckland (loss to Jakub Menšík), and a winning debut at the Australian Open against Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard.
Argentina will face South Korea in Busan on February 7–8 without any of its seven highest-ranked singles players, with Thiago Agustín Tirante as the team’s top-ranked player at No. 103. Four of the five nominated players will be making their Davis Cup debut.
“It’s a difficult date, but it was also difficult to come for the United Cup over New Year’s, and I still did it,” Báez explained. “So if they had asked me to go to Korea, I would have had to assess the situation. But since it never came to that, I didn’t even have to think about it.”
Báez told CLAY that Frana’s decision does not trouble him. Frana previously worked as part of his team. “It’s his decision and I respect it. I will always wish the best for every player and for the national team.”
Frana announced the squad on January 5, alongside a statement released on behalf of the Argentine Tennis Association explaining the reasons behind the unusual selection.
“The changes introduced by the ITF have clearly harmed our tennis, because the Davis Cup date is incompatible with the South American swing, preventing players from competing at the Rosario Challenger and from arriving properly prepared for Buenos Aires,” Frana said.
“There were strong efforts to try to change the date, but South Korea was inflexible,” he added.
‘It hurts, but I was away from home for too long.’
Román Burruchaga, Argentina’s number nine, explains to @varelanahmias at the @AustralianOpen the reasons for his ‘no’ to @javifranatenis to make his debut in the @DavisCup.https://t.co/ZWoOz6SYkn
— Clay (@_claymagazine) January 14, 2026
At a press conference in Buenos Aires, the former player was asked about the absence of higher-ranked players. He responded without naming anyone in particular.
“‘No’s’ are countered with four ‘yes’. The goal is to put together the best possible team with the players available, while always protecting everyone’s well-being. You can’t put a player between a rock and a hard place. What you want is for anyone who needs time to recover or focus on their calendar to be able to do so, because we’ll need them later on.”
Báez will defend a significant number of ranking points in February, following his title in Rio de Janeiro and his runner-up finish in Santiago last season.
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