Gonzalo Bueno: Turin hitting partner to Challenger champion in 2 months

Gonzalo Bueno/Omar Rasjido/AAT

Gonzalo Bueno was hitting with superstars Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner, Holger Rune and Stefanos Tsitsipas in November as a sparring partner at the Nitto ATP Finals. Fast forward two months and the 19-year-old Peruvian on Sunday collected his maiden ATP Challenger Tour title in Buenos Aires, where he has resided since 2022.

Bueno was one of three hitting partners (along with Joao Fonseca and Nishesh Basavareddy) at the prestigious year-end finale in Turin, where the teen was living a weeklong dream.

“It was one of the best, if not the best week of my life,” Bueno told ATPTour.com. “It was a great opportunity to share moments with all the players that were there. I think I learned a lot.”

Walking in the shadows of the world’s Top 8 players for a week has its perks — including behind-the-scenes access to witness their routines, some of which Bueno has since adopted.

“I saw Carlitos doing some really good things, some exercises that he does and I also started to do it,” Bueno said. “Also with Jannik, I saw what he does in the warm-ups and I started to do it as well. I'm really happy that I had that opportunity to see them in real life.”

All eight of the 2023 Nitto ATP Finals competitors are former ATP Challenger Tour champions, solidifying that there are no shortcuts to the top. Every player starts on the Challenger circuit with the same goal in mind: rising to the biggest stages of the sport. Bueno is aiming to be the next #NextGenATP star to make a quick ascent.

Bueno is one of four players born in 2004 to win a Challenger title, joining Arthur Fils, Luca Van Assche and Alex Michelsen. Fils, Van Assche and Michelsen have all eclipsed the Top 100 of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, with Fils leading the way at No. 34.

En route to winning the Challenger AAT de TCA 1, Bueno endured a whirlwind week. He advanced through qualifying, in which he was a set down in both of his matches. Competing in his first Challenger final, the Trujillo-native fended off three championship points to become the youngest Peruvian Challenger champion since 18-year-old Jaime Yzaga in 1985.

^{Gonzalo Bueno celebrates winning the Challenger 50 event in Buenos Aires. Credit: Omar Rasjido/AAT}

“It's amazing. I think it's one [I’m] going to remember for the rest of [my] life,” said Bueno, who is at a career-high No. 322. “It's special because it's the first and throughout the whole week, it was a rollercoaster.”

Bueno, who is the second-highest ranked Peruvian (Juan Pablo Varillas, No. 81), hopes his title run in his first tournament of the year is a sign of things to come in 2024.

“One of the goals will be to establish myself in the Challenger Tour, fighting for the final, semi-finals and all those matches that help you raise your level,” Bueno said. “Also, [another goal is that] I can get into the qualies of Roland Garros.”