Carlos Boluda: The "new Nadal" hangs up the bat
Carlos Boluda was once considered the "next big thing" in Spain, but he never made a breakthrough. How so? And why does youngster Carlos Alcaraz have a good chance of doing better than him in his opinion?
by Florian Heer
last edit: Jan 11, 2021, 12:15 pm
August last year. The tennis circus had just picked up speed again after the forced Corona break, the first tournaments in Italy took place in the best external conditions. In Trieste, the Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz won his first title on the ATP Challenger Tour at the age of 17 years and three months. Hymns of praise fell on the teenager from all sides. Comparisons with Rafael Nadal were obvious. Only the 20-time Grand Slam winner was younger as a player from the Iberian Peninsula when he celebrated his first Challenger triumph. During the season Alcaraz won two more titles and was named Newcomer of the Year by the ATP.
Carlos Boluda was predicted to have a similar steep career. Largely unknown in Germany, the talented right-hander was not infrequently awarded the title “new Nadal” by the Spanish media. Numerous successes in adolescence led to this questionable award. At the age of just 27, the Spaniard has now decided to hang up his racket after a decade of chasing a dream. As a child full of illusions, the adult Boluda had to discover a world very different from the one he had dreamed of.
In an interview with the Spanish tennis website Punto de Break , he revealed that the decision was made a month and a half ago. “I had doubts for a long time and dragged it along in front of me. Now it feels like a release, ”explained Boluda. “Spain is a country where an athlete, if he is successful, gets a lot of attention. Otherwise you would have compared me to someone else. Maybe I would have felt less pressure, but I don't think it would have changed anything. What affected my career the most were bad decisions. I think in the end I would have been pressured in another way. "
Title wins and worries on the ITF Pro Circuit
The man from Alicante could not live up to the demands that were made on him, especially from outside. In the end, there are nine individual titles on the ITF Pro Circuit on the credit side. However, Boluda was not able to establish himself at the higher tournament series. He achieved his highest ranking with place 254 in the ATP world rankings in March 2018. This is also one of the reasons for the early end of his career.
“My goal was to be on the Challenger Tour to feel like a tennis player. The world of futures keeps getting worse, they treat you worse and worse. You don't feel like a tennis player, you feel like dirt. If you're in the top 100, everything is wonderful, but not everyone will find their way there, "says Boluda and adds:" Physically, I feel great and my tennis is also at a very good level. Maybe I'll hit the ball cleaner than ever before, but if that mental strength is lost, it's the end. "
Human and financial aspects also led to his decision. “Every year that passed in my tennis career, I had one less person by my side. I've always been very sincere. I always had an open ear for questions. Well, I haven't experienced this support anywhere in the last few years. My family was there and helped me a lot, but they don't have a background in tennis and they can't guide me in that sense. I've also invested money in tennis all my life. I think that's a requirement too, but at some point there comes a point where it doesn't pay off anymore. My heart tells me to keep playing tennis, but my wallet sees it differently. "
Boluda is now on the road as a coach
However, the Iberian wants to continue playing tennis. Starting this season, Boluda will coach the Spanish professional player Nuria Parrizas. This ranks 233 in the WTA rankings. At the last ITF tournament of the year in Monastir, Tunisia, the tandem was able to win their first joint title. The two are also a couple in their private lives.
“So far she has always been on tour alone. That's why I decided to support them. She trusts me. Before that, I couldn't help her much because I was active myself. Now I can, so there is no time to lose, ”says Boluda, looking forward to the new task.
Spain's “next big thing”?
And what about Alcaraz? Will he be the "new Nadal"? The paths of the two talents have already crossed in the past.
“There won't be a“ new Nadal ”that quickly,” Boluda clarifies. Using an anecdote, however, he explains what is special about Spain's next hopeful youngster. “ With Juan Carlos Ferrero at the helm, Alcaraz has an excellent environment. In 2018 I was able to speak to him for the first time when we were both training at the academy. He was 15 years old, but you could already tell his class. This week he lost in the second round of an ITF junior event that was held there. After his match, I met him in the locker room and asked him, "How is Carlos? It wasn't going so well today." His answer was as follows: “I didn't train very well last week and I didn't feel good today. But nothing happened, we have to learn and move on. "
I realized that this kid had a mentality that few players have. When I was 15, losing was a drama for me, maybe it would have taken me three days to get back to training and forget about the lost match. In the first few hours after a defeat, you couldn't even speak to me. There is something special about this boy and now that a few years have passed it has been confirmed. He's a boy who learns from failure and then comes back stronger, that's a very great virtue. Mentally he's incredibly strong. "