Juan Lebrón: «I try to boast of having a sports psychologist»

Juan Lebrón (Puerto de Santa María, 1995) is currently the second best paddle player in the world. The break due to the coronavirus has prevented him from recovering for several months the historical honor that he earned in November last year, being the first born in Spain number one paddle tennis. Now that it debuts in the restart of the World Padel Tour In Madrid, Lebrón reflects on the slowdown in the competition, his mental strength forged with years of sports psychologists and the changes in the new normality in paddle tennis.

-How are you?

The truth is that very well. Mentally and physically I am with very good feelings, with my partner the same. I am looking forward to competing.

– Vertigo of facing a tournament so many months later?

Vertigo no, there is desire. You want to see what it will be like to play without an audience, which will be strange, but we are professionals and we have to adapt to all of us.

-Have you ever been so long without competing? Will playing without an audience affect you?

I just remember being so long without playing when I’m on vacation in January. You have to know that being able to play again is a very big prize. About playing without an audience … I still don’t know. I think I’m ready? Yes, psychologists have helped us a lot for this. Mentally we already know what we are going to expose ourselves to: a very large pavilion, with the stands tucked inside … at first, I will not lie to you, it surprises you.

-Why is paddle tennis able to come back now and other sports like tennis have not?

Paddle tennis is more national than tennis. We are doing a great job to expand throughout the world, but we have not yet reached the level that tennis has, which is global and where there are many players from different countries. Here on the paddle we are almost all living in Spain and we had those desire to play, like any professional athlete, and we have done everything possible to make it happen.

-Is it possible to keep the safety distance with the partner?

When you enter the track you cannot avoid that contact with your partner when you win a very long point or an important one. After all, your personality on the track is what it is, is what comes out. You can not avoid the partner or not collide. It comes out of your inertia, like when you get up in the morning.

-Has part of the coexistence been lost?

We have had a lot of contact during the confinement, we have talked a lot, we have had meetings, with the coaches as well. It was necessary to be able to get well to training.

-Has any routine you had before changed?

We carry out the routines that psychologists set for us. He (Álex Galán) has his, Itziar, and I have my psychologist, Óscar Lorenzo. They always send us routines and we follow their guidelines.

-I find the naturalness with which he talks about psychologists interesting, when there are athletes for whom it is taboo.

As if we were crazy, right? (laughs) I am super proud of the truth. It is part of my team, part of my work, it is another training that I add daily, I think it is one more strength in my game. I try to boast about it, it is a very nice thing to share your feelings with someone who can help you. I’ve been with mine for seven years, he knows me well enough. I would say you know me more than my mother and father. It is a very nice thing that someone helps you with so much confidence.

-How has it strengthened you in sports?

I’m giving a lot of ideas to rivals already, huh (laughs). It helps you a lot mentally, especially in mental strength, which is very important. It gives me a lot of guidelines and I try to keep all of them, especially in training, so that they take place in tournaments. You have to prepare for the good and the bad. For me it is an award to be with him.

-Why do you think athletes try to avoid talking about this?

They will have complexes, fears … They will have their reasons and maybe they are ashamed of them. I think it is a very important tool in sports. And there are people who don’t need it, huh. Others do. I once said that I did not need it, that this was bullshit, and in the end I am proud to have had it these seven years. If I hadn’t been with him, maybe a lot of things wouldn’t have happened the same.

-To finish, the objective is to recover number one?

The objective is to win all the matches throughout the year. That says it all.