Facundo Diaz Acosta, the rising Argentine tennis star, has expressed his disappointment at missing out on the Tokyo Olympics despite his impressive performances on the international stage.
Diaz Acosta, who won his maiden ATP Challenger title in Buenos Aires earlier this year, was initially hopeful of qualifying for the Games after winning gold at the Pan American Games in Santiago last October. However, the emergence of Mariano Navone and an acute right shoulder injury dashed his hopes.
“There was a lot of confusion in Argentina,” Diaz Acosta told TENNIS.com at Wimbledon. “All the people thought I was in. I got a lot of messages of congratulations. I had to say to everyone, ‘No, no, no, I’m not in.'”
The 23-year-old had been targeting the Olympics since 2018, when he finished the week at the Youth Olympics in Buenos Aires. He won silver in the singles and gold in doubles alongside Sebastian Baez, who will be competing in Tokyo.
Diaz Acosta also claimed gold at the South American Games in Paraguay in 2022, further bolstering his credentials. However, the injury and Navone’s strong performances on the clay swing ultimately proved too much to overcome.
“When I got injured, I knew I had points I was going to lose,” Diaz Acosta said. “And Mariano was doing pretty well during the clay swing so I knew he was going to go.”
Despite the setback, Diaz Acosta remains optimistic about his future prospects. “If not this time, maybe Los Angeles,” he said, referring to the 2028 Olympics. “Clay, and Paris, one of my favorite cities. It was like the perfect conditions to play.”
