1980 South American Championships – Singles

Guillermo Vilas was the defending champion but did not compete that year.

José Luis Clerc won in the final 6–7, 2–6, 7–5, 6–0, 6–3 against Rolf Gehring.

Seeds
A champion seed is indicated in bold text while text in italics indicates the round in which that seed was eliminated.


 * 1) n/a
 * 2) 🇦🇷 José Luis Clerc (champion)
 * 3)  Víctor Pecci (semifinals)
 * 4)  Hans Gildemeister (quarterfinals)
 * 5) 🇧🇴 Mario Martinez (second round)
 * 6)  Rolf Gehring (final)
 * 7) 🇪🇨 Andrés Gómez (quarterfinals)
 * 8) 🇧🇷 Marcos Hocevar (second round)