Argentine tennis professional Tomás Martín Etcheverry revealed in an interview that he stopped attending traditional school at age 12, accumulated 120 absences due to tournaments, and went into financial debt to fund his early career, according to Puntodebreak.
Tomás Martín Etcheverry Recalls Leaving Traditional School at Age 12
The rigorous demands of professional tennis often require athletes to make drastic life choices well before reaching adulthood. For Etcheverry, those sacrifices began in early adolescence when balancing academics and competitive play became untenable. Speaking on La Fábrica Podcast, the Argentine player detailed how school attendance quickly faded as travel and tournament schedules expanded.
“I did school until I was 12 years old. At that time I had 120 absences for competing: it was unsustainable,” Etcheverry said during the podcast appearance. While noting that several players managed to finish their schooling and still reach the top 100 of the ATP rankings, he admitted his own path went directly toward the sport. “Today I think I could have done a couple more years,” he added.
Etcheverry Sought Sponsors to Fund Early Career
Leaving a conventional educational path carried heavy economic and psychological burdens for a young athlete. Etcheverry explained that the financial reality of funding junior and early professional tennis forced his family to seek external backing immediately.
“I had a lot of pressure for having left everything. I was a 12-year-old boy and my folks helped me make the decision,” Etcheverry stated. “We had to go out and look for sponsors to bankroll my career: I went into debt and in my head I started to think that I had to win to return the money.”
Etcheverry Reaches 31st in ATP Singles Rankings
The high-stakes gamble made by Etcheverry and his family ultimately paid dividends on the international circuit. The 27-year-old currently occupies the 31st spot in the official ATP singles rankings, having previously climbed as high as 25th in May.
His professional resume includes a notable title at the ATP 500 event in Rio de Janeiro. In Grand Slam competition, Etcheverry’s deepest runs feature a quarterfinal appearance at the French Open at Roland Garros and a run to the fourth round at the US Open.
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