The XIII South American Games 2026 kicked off in Santa Fe with dominant performances from Argentina and Chile, both of whom secured two victories on the opening day of the group stage. As the tournament moves toward its conclusion, the competition remains fierce, with only the top two pairs from each group earning a spot in the upcoming knockout rounds.
Day 1 Results and Group Standings
The opening day of the tournament showcased clear frontrunners in both the men’s and women’s brackets. Here is a breakdown of the key performances and current standings across the groups:
- Men’s Group A: Argentina’s Contreras/Piotto and Chile’s Salinas Ordenes/Negrete Oliva both finished the day with two wins. Both pairs successfully defeated the teams from Bolivia (Oropeza/Torrelio) and Peru (Ceballos Dorazi/Monges Leon) without dropping a single set.
- Men’s Group B: The Paraguayan duo Abud/Dehnike claimed the top spot after securing wins against Uruguay’s Artia Malugani/Ensslin Alves and Ecuador’s Armijos/Montoya Pinchao. Notably, the Paraguayans showed resilience by coming back from a set down in their opening match against Uruguay. Elsewhere in the group, Uruguay managed a victory over Venezuela, while Venezuela bounced back to defeat Ecuador.
- Women’s Group A: Chile’s Arancibia/Ahumada Carrasco dominated their group with two wins, defeating both Venezuela’s Cogorno/Hernandez and Peru’s Miro Quesada/Torres Draxl. Both Venezuela and Peru also secured wins against the Bolivian pair, Meneses Cuellar Doria Medina Aviles.
- Women’s Group B: Argentina’s Milena Vilchez/Mosca asserted their authority by winning both of their matches 2-0 against Uruguay and Ecuador. Uruguay’s Belassi/David De Lima Gonzalez and Ecuador’s Alvarez/Holguin Reyes currently sit behind the Argentinians, each holding one victory after defeating the Paraguayan pair, Salsamendi Guggiari/Olga Bareiro.
The group stage concludes today, September 23, with play starting at 10:00 am local time. The stakes are high, as the winners of Group A are set to face the runners-up of Group B, and the winners of Group B will face the runners-up of Group A. A highlight of the final group stage matches will be the highly anticipated Argentina vs. Chile clash in the men’s division, which will determine who takes first place in Group A. Fans can follow the action live via the official Odesur YouTube channel.
