Just outside Court Philippe-Chatrier at Roland Garros, the venue for wheelchair tennis at Paris 2024, there is a statue of the man known as the king. Rafael Nadal has won 14 French Open titles, and he is inspiring Spain’s contingent as it prepares for competition in Paris.
Nadal’s influence on Spanish tennis runs deep, but the love affair with Roland Garros is eternal. Juan Carlos Ferrero, his predecessor as Spain’s poster boy, won there in 2003, while Carlos Alcaraz, the current hero coached by Ferrero, is the reigning champion.
Paralympics Wheelchair tennis 2024
There are three Spanish hopefuls at the Paralympics: Daniel Caverzaschi, Martin de la Puente and Enrique Siscar Mosquer. The significance of their surroundings, and the reputation of the legend who made the place his own, is not lost on them.
“Roland Garros is iconic for Spanish players,” said Caverzaschi.
“It is nice to play here; there are so many role models who have won here in the past. Rafa has been my main role model in sports.
“The way he plays, the style; I can’t compare myself at all but I’m also left-handed, there are similarities that I have tried to learn from Rafa.”
Nadal is now 38 and may have made his final Roland Garros appearance, having bowed out alongside Alcaraz in the doubles quarter-finals. The pair were affectionately dubbed ‘Nadalcaz’.
“It was pretty cool,” Caverzaschi said. “There was huge hype in Spain around that. It was fun to watch. They lost to a good doubles team, specialists. It was normal they could lose. We thought there would be an epic comeback in true Rafa style, but we loved to see it.”
Returning from career-threatening injury
The hunt for medals holds even more resonance with Caverzaschi than usual. After coming back from injury hell, which included three wrist surgeries, and battling against the possibility of enforced retirement, the 31-year-old is feeling confident.
He continued: “It is very emotional for me – I haven’t played here since 2022, I was injured for a year and a half. Coming back here, it has been a very good year; I’m playing very well, I like the courts, I love the clay. I’m looking forward to it.
“This is the best comeback I could have asked for. I feel I can beat anyone. I need to manage expectations, ideally, the Games would be next year. I want to continue this way, if I play well I can do great things. Why not dream big? I hope for a medal in singles or doubles.”
Clay courts are the base for Spain’s dominance in Paris. Caverzaschi says tennis is taught to Spanish players in a way that maximises the surface.
“A lot of tennis academies have clay courts; we are used to it. We don’t have grass courts – in my academy in Barcelona, they are all clay. Several players came to train with me over the summer, it is similar to what we have in Paris. Clay suits a style that is grittier and more physical, it suits intense players who like to grind from the baseline.
“Tennis has been taught like that for a long time – the other factor is Rafa and what he has done for all of us.”
Wheelchair tennis, and the Paralympic movement generally, is still fighting for recognition. Caverzaschi, who professed a strong passion for the subject matter, is trying to drive his change.
“I set up a marketing company specialising in adapted sports last year,” he said. I think there is huge potential for commercial enterprises to connect with athletes and campaigns in disability sport.
“It has been tough—we’ve been changing strategy as we’ve learnt from mistakes. I found it with my best friend, it is special to create it with him.
“Lots of people don’t understand the terminology, they don’t want to offend, so we are looking to do the work and create the content for them. I love it, there is so much potential, but there is so much education we need to do. We need to challenge an old mindset, but I like the challenge.”
Caverzaschi’s first Games were in London in 2012, which he says was a seminal moment for the movement, and other nations need to learn from it,
“Perceptions changed there; disability was completely normalised after the Games,” he explained. “The UK is a role model for the whole world; in Spain, it is improving. We are considered elite athletes, institutions are supporting us more. There is an evolution, for sure, but still a way to go.”
After “dark moments” during his injury recovery, Caverzaschi is back feeling good. But given what he has been through and where he finds himself, he is taking a philosophical approach to his performance in the coming weeks.
“There were moments when I had done everything I needed, every routine or operation, and I still needed more, when I got angry, sad or frustrated.
“Dark thoughts crept in, but I’m proud of how I’ve managed the last two years. There were doubts I’d be able to compete at a professional level, and here I am. The best is yet to come. But I need to enjoy my fourth Paralympic Games and a place like Roland Garros.”
Inspiration is all around for Spain’s wheelchair tennis stars. They will hope to harness it to make this a golden summer.
SOURCES- https://www.paralympic.org/
