It is a giant heart wrapped in a bare body, a woman with an engraved smile, a sweet Canarian accent, easy words and simplicity in her gestures. She is humility and strength. Carla Suarez Navarro (Las Palmas, 3-9-1988), one of the best tennis players that this country has produced, has shared a weekend with the best Navarrese and has left a great mark, not only on them, but also on the people who came to the Lordship of Zuasti to listen to her, to learn, to laugh. As a self-styled “veteran player” confessed to her, in addition to admiring her as an athlete, they took Carla’s “human being”.
He kindly agrees to dedicate a few minutes to this medium, but asks that it be after attending to the dozens of requests for photos and autographs he receives after the chat at the Country Club.
She seems comfortable answering questions from younger people, which was the majority.
Yes, it is something that I really like, because I understand that for them it is an opportunity to have a player who has managed to be a professional, as is my case, in front of them. I would have loved to have been able to do it with Arantxa and Conchita, who were the ones I admired as a child.
He has been retired for a year. How is Carla Suárez’s life now?
Very calm. I ended up tired and wanted to have some rest time. In this sense, the pandemic was uphill for me. It was a disgrace for everyone, of course, but when you are a professional athlete and you have to be confined at home it affects you, because it totally changes your life. And in my case, just after confinement, I was diagnosed with the disease. So, between one thing and another, I spent a year off the slopes.
If it is difficult for an ordinary person who overcomes cancer to return to a normal life, what did it have to be like to play tennis again?
I was lucky, because it didn’t affect me much physically. They gave me chemotherapy sessions for four months and then I received radiotherapy, but I didn’t have many sequelae and it didn’t last long.
And not only did he get to play again, but he got to the Tokyo Games.
It was the dream farewell. After so long without playing tennis, being able to participate in the Olympic Games was very nice. It was the best way to quit.
Are you aware that people like Carla Suárez can give a boost to cancer patients, by seeing her play tennis again after what has happened?
I am aware of this, yes, because there are many people who write to me or approach me to tell me that seeing how I have overcome it gives them strength and that generates a lot of satisfaction.
She says that the disease didn’t affect her much physically, but how has Carla changed from what she was before?
I already did, but I do value every moment much more. It was like that since before having the lymphoma, but now much more. People often ask you what you’re going to do next month, but I don’t make those kinds of plans. I can think about what I’m going to do tomorrow, but no further. I like to enjoy everyday life, being with my family, my partner, moments like being here this weekend, without thinking about anything else.
In this new stage, he is being seen collaborating with different media (Eurosport, El País). Likes?
Yes, since I now have time and can afford it, I have accepted the proposals that have been made to me. I don’t know if it’s something I’ll continue to do, but for now this year that I’m taking it easy, I’m having a good time. I have always liked a lot of different sports, ever since I was little.
And he has asked that they not tell him how the Classic is going…
Yes, but from what I’ve heard it seems that Real Madrid is winning -he says with a disappointed smile-…
The best Navarran tennis players spend a few hours with Carla Suárez
They asked him about everything. Mental health, pressure, idols, beginnings and they made him choose between the best and the best tennis player. Carla Suárez responded to everything openly in a relaxed atmosphere created in the Country Club of the Señorío de Zuasti this Sunday, October 16 in the afternoon, in the massive talk that the Canarian starred in and that served as the culmination of the two days of coexistence and learning with some of the Navarrese tennis players best placed in the ranking.
What he likes least about tennis “It’s loneliness and the calendar”, he highlighted, in addition to warning that the good moments are less enjoyed in an individual sport and the hard ones are more difficult to overcome. Suárez spoke more than answered and questioned the attendees. “The most important thing is to enjoy yourself, and if you have something that worries you, talk to your coach. I’m sure something similar happened to her. A psychologist helped me, the key is to let you help, ”she said.
Carla, who came to be world number 6 in 2016recognized that Serena Williams She is the tennis player who has put it on the hardest and among the big 3 (Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic), surprised by saying: “I am very Andy Murraywho has had the misfortune to coincide with them”.
