BarcelonaThe world tennis ranking has a new king: Carlos Alcaraz. With the man from Murcia in first place and followed by Rafa Nadal from Manacor, for the first time in history two Spaniards occupy the two highest places in the general classification. Like them, however, there is a third number 1 that no one is counting on: Antomi Ramos. The tennis player from Gran Canaria does not appear on the pages of the newspapers or in the news, but he also holds the world number 1, in the category of beach tennis, since April 2019. But does this sport have a tradition in Catalonia? Much more than we think.
“In our house there is a lot of interest in the amateur field. Especially in the last year and a half it has been seen how the competition tables in the tournaments are all filling up, and there are even people waiting to be able- enter it,” explains Gerard Rodríguez, second in Spain just behind the intractable Antomi. “On a professional scale, of Catalans we have reached the top 10 [del món] it’s just me, but there are two other players who are closing the top 50”, he adds. Beach tennis is a sport that, for practical purposes, depends on the Tennis Federation. Therefore, internationally it is within the ITF (International Tenis Federation); en l’àmbit estatal, de la RFET (Real Federació Espanyola de Tenis), i en l’àmbit català, de la Federació Catalana de Tenis. Pel que fa a llicències, tot i que es pot tenir- beach tennis, anyone with a tennis license can compete in this modality. Currently, in Catalonia, there are about 450 beach tennis licenses and about 600 athletes (therefore about 150 who have a tennis license) who regularly play in competitions officers
These figures, however, are very different from when Gerard picked up a beach tennis racket 13 years ago. “I come from the world of tennis and that summer a friend of mine took me to a beach in Vilanova where they were holding a beach tennis tournament. It was a sport I had never heard of, but I was hooked,” he recalls the tennis player from his beginnings. “The sport itself is a lot of fun because it’s all volleys, you can’t bounce the ball and there’s very little reaction time. Even though the points are short, it’s a lot of fun. But also, when you go in a place to play, you don’t go to a club, you go to a beach where there is the sea, the bar… These are things that make people like it even more – he emphasizes – something is generated next door of sport the good roll, the good vibes which is so fashionable.”
Before the pandemic, professional players could barely make ends meet. Now this has changed: “You can make a living from beach tennis if you are very good, but that has been in the wake of covid. Before the pandemic, it is true that there was a big movement and sponsors were interested in it, but it seemed that it had hit a little roof. The covid arrived and in many countries you could only do sports outside, no clubs or gyms. You could only go to the mountains or the beach, and internationally there was a boom. Especially thanks to Brazil there there has been an explosion of this sport. many sponsors of this country have bet heavily on it and we are at a time when every month we have a positive piece of news about this sport: financial prizes in tournaments, new sponsors, more volume of players…”.
Despite this, “a bit of professionalization is missing because we have just started”. There is plenty of potential, both in terms of facilities and talent, but the money and opportunities that are created are decisive and sometimes insufficient. “The Spanish Federation is betting a lot on it by making a circuit called the Mapfre League and which gives €2,000 in prize money for each race and there are about fifteen races a year. In addition, it grants scholarships at both junior and absolute levels. Bet year after a year to take us to the World Cup (which was played a week ago) and the European Championship. She is always there, but, on the other hand, the Catalan does a less visible, more local job and is more amateur. In the professional field there is no incentive or motivation to go further, there is no help from the Catalan Federation. They should take care of us a little more”, claims Gerard Rodríguez, who is now number 18 in the world, despite which has come to hold the ninth position in the world ranking.
Bogatell beach is filled with nets, marks and rackets almost every afternoon. With the sea in the background, dozens of players gather on the sand to learn this sport. Before, being a professional and a teacher went hand in hand, now it is starting to be an option. “In the last year many players have decided to stop teaching to dedicate themselves only to competing, which was unthinkable before. This has made it a slightly more professional sport. If you decide to make the change and you can still pay the rent , the food, being able to do things… is that things are getting better,” admits the tennis player, who trains new talents four times a week in the summer. “We are reaching a point where we can earn a decent salary like to players, even if it’s only the top ten in the ranking.”
