The free event was staged to encourage young people to recognise and engage with their peers, and gave youngsters the opportunity to play friendly matches against teachers, coaches, volunteers and families around the famous Obelisco de Buenos Aires.

Argentinean tennis players Martín Jaite, captain of the Argentinean Davis Cup team; Mailen Auroux and María Irigoyen, members of the Argentinean Fed Cup team; and former top 15 player Franco Squillari, were at the event, alongside director of development of the Argentine Tennis Association Modesto Vazquez and director of the Buenos Aires City Tennis School and winner of 25 ATP titles José Luis Clerc.

Tennis stars such as Rafael Nadal, Serena Williams, Victoria Azarenka, John McEnroe and Argentinian number one Juan Martín del Potro were also involved in the World Tennis Day celebrations, with other events taking place in Hong Kong, New York, and other cities.

"This has been a wonderful day for the children involved in these great activities and also for Argentinean tennis," said Jaite.

"The fact that Buenos Aires was selected to kick off World Tennis Day is a huge honor which underlines the strength and popularity of tennis in this great sporting nation.

"We hope that by engaging youngsters in tennis and other sports from such an early age we can encourage them to continue playing and strive to become the next generation of champions.

"World Tennis Day is a marvellous initiative and it's great to see so many children being engaged in sport at such a young age here in Buenos Aires and around the world."

Children played tennis on makeshift courts outside the famous Obelisco de Buenos Aires to mark World Tennis Day

Francisco Irarrázaval, Buenos Aires Under-Secretary of Sport and chief executive of Buenos Aires 2018, claimed the Argentinean capital had shown its credentials to host the Youth Olympics and that the city was in confident mood.

"We are honoured and privileged to be selected to host these wonderful activities and this is once again a resounding endorsement of our unwavering commitment to youth sport as well as our hosting capabilities," he said.

"We know that we have the foundations in place to host a Youth Olympic Games steeped in sporting excellence that would fulfil our promise of cultural engagement and long lasting friendships amongst competitors and spectators.

"The whole of Buenos Aires should take great confidence from the success of this magnificent, fun filled event as we embark upon the exciting final stages of our bid to host the Youth Olympic Games in 2018."

Buenos Aires was announced on the shortlist to host the 2018 Youth Olympic Games last month, along with the Scottish city of Glasgow and Medellín in Colombia, with a decision on the host set to be made by International Olympic Committee (IOC) members at an Extraordinary Session in Lausanne on July 4.

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