The Spanish player Lara Arruabarrena, She gave a few words to Behind The Racquet, where she analyzed her beginnings in the world of tennis and, above all, how complicated it has been for her in recent years as a professional tennis player, constantly rethinking herself to retire from the sport of the racket.
– Why did you choose tennis when you were young and not other sports?
“I always played tennis because I loved to compete and had fun playing my matches. Training was always more difficult because I never really liked it, but I knew I had to train well to be competitive during tournaments. It was worth it and I really enjoyed my During my career, I realized that every time I lost a game, I thought that nothing was happening because the following week I would have a new opportunity. As the saying goes: “New week, new opportunities.” That’s how I lived it. You have to realize that each week only one wins and they lose the rest. “
– Very hard moments during his time as a professional:
“From the age of 19 to 25, I ranked among the 70-90 best players in the world. There were times when I got bored because I thought I could do better, but the results weren’t good. In 2017 I decided to hire a new coach and I improved my mental aspect a bit. I also followed a super strict diet. I had very high goals and expectations and in my head was to improve every day. I changed so many things about my game … my way of thinking, behavior on court … Not only in tennis, but also outside of it. I had a very hard time. I was trapped. I wanted to cry in the middle of the games. I wanted to go home as soon as I entered the tournaments. I had a lot of anxiety that also affected me Personal life”.
– He always stayed in the low positions of the top 100:
“I finished year after year approximately at number 80 in the ranking and felt that every extra effort I made was useless. I was in the same ranking every year and I was not happy. The last two years I have struggled and even thought about retiring from the ranking. You tennis almost every day. It was very difficult to come back from that situation. “
– Your current fitness:
“After those bad moments, I can say that now I love the competition again. I am not in the ranking that I would like to be, but I feel competitive and now I can go back to where I was. That is already a victory. The most important thing is that I am happy with my life, that I enjoy what I do and the people around me, “concluded the San Sebastian player.
.
