Tennis is usually seen from the stands, the sofa or from the cold statistics of the next day. Results, rankings, hits, errors. Our external look works and is an excuse in conversations. But it is true that leave out what happens when the game ends and the player is once again left alone with his head, body and decisions. In recent decades, Spanish tennis has built a story of great namesmemorable endings and memory. Carlos Moya (Palma de Mallorca, 1976), Alex Corretja (Barcelona, 1974), Albert Costa (Lleida, 1975) Juan Carlos Ferrero (Ontinyent, 1980) represent a time of sustained success and maximum demands. At the same time, around its bright core, different trajectories have coexisted, early decision careerscomplex family contexts and a pressure that we rarely know from the outside.
tennis is an individual sport that demands constant emotional strength (as I have been able to read, throughout my life, in interviews, technical talks or professional analyses). From this consensus a book has been born that approaches tennis from an internal perspectivepersonal and direct, written by someone who was inside, on the track (and off it), in the spaces where a camera almost never enters. ‘Tennis from within: From the locker room to the cabin: a journey to the heart of tennis’ It was published in October 2025 and is signed by Roberto Carretero (Barcelona, 1975). The prologue belongs to Carlos Moyá, a choice that sets the tone of the book and its legitimacy within the ecosystem of professional tennis.
Carter is a former professional playerwinner of a Masters Series in Hamburg after passing the qualifying phase, coach, commentator and sports analyst. His experience crosses different layers of tennis and allows a broad vision. Your book is a personal memory, professional reflection and conversations with protagonists who have been part of an unrepeatable generation. The work includes exclusive interviews with Rafael Nadal (Manacor, 1986), Gustavo Kuerten (Florianópolis, 1976), Marat Safin (Moscow, 1980), Álex Corretja, Albert Costa, José Antonio Mielgo (Madrid, 1969) and Mariano Hontcillas (Madrid, 1969). These voices provide context, nuances and an interesting reading that expands the scope of the story.
A story of the tennis player away from the spotlight
If you read this book, you are going to have to place yourself in a unglamorous environment. Carretero’s first blows come at a campsite in Jaca, far from high-performance academies and their professional structures. A story of discipline early, family separation at fourteen and a physically and mentally demanding routine. The work describes its process. To do this, it is based on facts and sensations that anyone who has dealt with the pressure of performance You will be able to empathize.
The book also talks a lot about decisionsof sporting, personal and emotional choices that condition their career. Carretero approaches this aspect honestly and relies on his experience and conversations with other players. The text raises necessary questions within elite sport related to the talent managementhe psychological support and the impact of media pressure. Carlos Moyá, in the prologue, highlights Carretero’s explosiveness and his natural talent. Álex Corretja remembers the potential that was attributed to him from an early age. Albert Costa points out a projection that seemed limitless. Gustavo Kuerten speaks of an overwhelming force. Marat Safin points out the difficulty of understanding one’s own potential when the demand appears too soon. These reflections are integrated into the story naturally.
Roberto Carretero, lifting the trophy of the Hamburg tournament in 1996.
The pedagogical capacity of the book is also suggestive. José Antonio Mielgo has highlighted its usefulness to understand tennis from within, and the definition is precise. Carretero explains circuit dynamics, training routines, relationships with coaches and journalists and the role of commentators. If you are not pro, don’t worry. The book is designed both for advanced amateurs as well as for readers who approach tennis from curiosity.
It is a very good gift because the tennis fan finds verified information, testimonies and a well-told story. The curious reader discovers a complex, demanding and nuanced sport. ‘Tennis from within’ proposes a walk through the professional circuitclose to everyday reality. Explains tennis from accumulated experience and is based on facts, conversations and very entertaining experiences. A thoughtful gift, with context and a story that deserves to be read, match by match, page by page, very enriching.
