Category: Story

August 12, 2021

“June 20, 2020 — 10 days before my birthday — my mom and step dad walked through the door. My mom looks at me and says, “Al, your dad passed away this morning.” My step dad walked over to me, hugged me, and said, “Be strong for your mom and brother,” so I did just that. I struggled every day and little did I know it was just the beginning of a very long healing journey. Fast forward to 6 months later. My grandma had a cancer that was considered to be a, “good cancer that wouldn’t kill her.” That’s what we were told by the doctors. Suddenly she was in and out of the hospital due to her calcium spiking. I was on a trip training for Australian open qualifying and changed it around so I could come home to be with her before going. The day before coming home, I got the call that she had passed. She was my best friend. We did everything together. 3 weeks later my step dad’s mom passed away. A couple weeks after that my coach Lisa and I were at a tournament and her dad passed away. She had to leave (more…)

August 8, 2021

“I broke into the top 100 in 2017. It was my goal since an early age. If you’re in the top 100, then you consider that you succeeded in tennis. Although, I respect a lot of guys below top 100 because I know how good you have to be even to be 150 or 250. Those guys are also playing amazing tennis, and they are so dedicated and practicing all day. It’s not really fair in one way, but that’s what the sport is like — Top 100 is what is in everybody’s mind; the ultimate goal to be successful. At the end of 2016, I changed my coach after 10 years. I moved to another city so there were some other changes happening. I started really bad. That season, 2017, I had 9 or 10 losses in a row on the Challenger level. I was devastated and I didn’t know what was happening because I was giving my best on the practices and everything. There was a tournament in Casablanca, Morocco, a 250 event, and I entered for the qualis.I qualified, and beat Kližan in the first round. That was my first ATP win. That came from nowhere, basically, (more…)

June 27, 2021

“I always played tennis because i loved the competition and had so much fun during my matches. Practicing was always tough and i never liked it a lot but i knew i had to practice well to be able to be competitive during the tournaments and it was totally worth it and i really enjoyed everything. During my career, I have also relativized a lot everytime i lost a match thinking i would have another chance next week. As they say “new week new chances” and that’s how i always saw it from inside. Specially when is so difficult to win a tournament and all players except one, lose. From when i was 19 to 25 years old, i was ranked between top 70-90 in the world and at some point i got bored of it cause i though i could do it better. So in 2017 i hired a new coach, started working with mental coach, followed super strict diet, i had bigger goals, more expectations and my journy was 24/7doing things for tennis and improve my game and be more proffesional. I changed so many things about my game, my way of thinking and my way of behaving, not just (more…)

June 24, 2021

#LegendaryBTR– “I was born for tennis. From the age of 4, I dreamed of becoming a professional tennis player. I loved to practice and improve every detail. I went through the normal steps to get to the professional level, from junior tournaments to ATP events. By age 21, I had won challenger titles. I started to play only ATP events because I thought it was the best way to improve. It was 1992 and things were looking bright. My dreams were all coming true. I won my first ATP title in Nice, France. I beat Pete Sampras, who was number one in the world. Two weeks later, I beat Ivan Lendl and Michael Chang. I had beaten 3 of the Top 5 players. Everything was in place. I was happy and enjoying my time on the tour. My nightmare began the following year. I won a five-set match at Roland Garros and was in my best shape. I went to the locker room to ask for treatment so my body could recover. The trainer was working on my back when the massage table broke. We fell and one of the table legs badly cut my toe. The training room broke (more…)

June 17, 2021

“I always felt that I had to work harder than average because my country is behind on many issues.  I come from a town of only 12,000 people where the idea of playing tennis professionally is totally crazy. From a very young age my family and I worked really hard to make this dream come true. When I started to compete, I remember feeling “weird” for taking tennis seriously. I was surrounded by a world where the majority of young people chose a team sport and not the idea of losing absolutely alone. When I was 18 years old, I signed a 10-year contract with sponsors who invested in my career. I went from being a teenager with doubts about being a professional, to actually being one. I didn’t necessarily feel the pressure from the sponsors, but it was just a radical change. I had to remove certain things that could distract me from tennis. I had to leave my life of being a teenager, my small town, family reunions, outings, soccer with friends and my last year of school, which I worked hard to finish. It was also a drastic change when the contract ended, which it took me (more…)

June 10, 2021

“I dealt with so many injuries I did not have a junior career. I hardly had a ranking and played few tournaments. I matured very late. I was short until age 16, then I started to grow quickly. I had problems with my knees, elbows and back. I played with pain then it got worse. I think I had every injury until I grew into my body. Over the last few years, I have been trying to reduce my injuries. They never go away but I have found a way to listen to my body. At 18, I started to play some $10,000 events. There was a lot of financial pressure because you are playing small tournaments and sometimes losing in the first round. But I believed in myself because I saw other girls who had similar game styles and had achieved good rankings. Deep down, I knew I could make it. In 2019, my ranking rose from number 140 to number 21. I had good results in a few big tournaments and it was a quick rise to the top. But then it was hard to think about how you got there and how to stay there. The next (more…)

June 3, 2021

“Growing up, one of my good friends was coached by my father. He was diagnosed with bone cancer and passed away less than two years later. This was the toughest moment in my life. He was like a brother to me. I have him in my mind every single day and I always travel with a shirt that has his picture. I always knew tennis was my path. I was certain that I would be successful and happy on the court. I led the Spanish Tennis Federation from age 15 until 19. Everything was easy and expenses were covered by the federation. At 19, I was playing a challenger and I fell and broke my wrist. I spent three months in a cast. Then I left the federation and hired a private coach. This was the only time that I was unsure about becoming a professional tennis player. My longevity on tour is thanks to many things. When I reached my 30s, I thought about my friends from Spain who retired at that age. I asked how I could extend my career because I was feeling great. For the next 10 years, I took care of my fitness. I have (more…)

May 27, 2021

“It was April 13th, 2017. It was noon in Colombia and it was really hot. My dad was playing tennis and started to have trouble breathing. It was the beginning of a heart attack. He kept playing until he had to go to the hospital where he passed away. He loved playing tennis and he died on the tennis court. His death was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to go through. It’s been a struggle. It’s surreal to realize that I can’t have my father physically with me. He was my biggest supporter and the one who put a racquet in my hand. I think about him every day. Every time I’m going to hit a milestone or reach new heights, I think of how proud he would be. It’s hard not to have him by my side, but I know he’s upstairs watching over me. I am lucky that he supported my journey to the United States. He is my biggest motivation because I want to get to the top to make him proud. Many colombian players are a part of the same unique sponsorship family, Colsanitas. My sister was part of my team. During the week, my (more…)

May 21, 2021

“I started playing tennis at age seven. I grew up in a rural country town in New South Wales, where there were not many opportunities to face good players. I went to a school that did not offer much support for my tennis. At age 10, I got spondylolisthesis, stress fractures in the back that never heal. I had two right wrist surgeries and left elbow surgery. I also had appendicitis and glandular fever. On top of all that I had a fibular stress fracture and bilateral achilles surgery, which made me miss my chance to play my last junior grand slams. These injuries gave me the resilience to fight and come back. Positivity is who I am. For me, it’s about being on the court and being able to compete. I feel very fortunate. At age 16, I made the decision to take tennis more seriously, so I moved to an academy in Melbourne and shifted to distanced learning. Two years later, I went to college and played for the University of Georgia. In Australia, at the time, going to college meant that you did not make it on tour. I went to college to play professionally after one (more…)

May 13, 2021

“Tennis has had a huge impact on my life, starting when I discovered wheelchair tennis and the possibility of exercising while in a wheelchair. In 2017, I was diagnosed with colon cancer. I underwent 25 rounds of radiation therapy, chemotherapy and had major surgery. Despite all of this, I still played tennis once a week, even if I could only practice for 15 minutes. Tennis was that important to me. I genuinely believe tennis saved me. Last year, I won the US Open. I had received a wild card because it was the first Grand Slam I had ever played. This win solidified my place at the top of wheelchair tennis and got rid of my status as an underdog. Now I know I can win, as long as I am physically and mentally at the top of my game. Therefore, I have been putting more emphasis on meeting with my mental coach. On the court, I stand out because I’m able to play defense while looking for that small opportunity to bend the rally into a play where I can be offensive and finish the point with a winner. I stand out because I am the only top-ranked player (more…)