Consider This from NPR - The Spanish Tennis Pipeline That Led Carlos Alcaraz To A Wimbledon Trophy

Episode Date: July 17, 2023

Carlos Alcaraz's victory over Novak Djokovic in the Wimbledon final was the latest coronation of a tennis great from Spain.NPR's Rob Schmitz looks into how the country became such fertile ground for outstanding players.In participating regions, you'll also hear a local news segment to help you make sense of what's going on in your community.Email us at [e-mail] more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

This message comes from Indiana University. Indiana University is committed to moving the world forward, working to tackle some of society's biggest challenges. Nine campuses, one purpose. Creating tomorrow, today. More at iu.edu. On Wimbledon's Center Court Sunday, the present met the future. And the future won. Carlos Alcaraz is the special one to dethrone Djokovic at Wimbledon. After five grueling sets, ESPN broadcasts the moment that many say marks the changing of the guard in men's tennis. Novak Djokovic has dominated the sport for years, especially the grass at Wimbledon.

He's been undefeated on the stadium's center court for a decade. And the man who beat him, Carlos Alcaraz, is just 20 years old. He nodded to the age gap after the match. You inspire me a lot. You know, I started playing tennis, watching you. I mean, since I was born, you know, you already was winning tournaments. Alcaraz has skyrocketed to the top of the sport. He is the top-ranked player in the world. And that has made him a hero in his native Spain, a country that already punches above its weight in pro tennis.

King Felipe, the Spanish monarch, was in the stands at Winderling. It's special to play. You know where I'm from. Royalty. Philippe, I'm really proud, you know, that you are here supporting me. Well, I played in front of you just twice, just that I won.

I hope you are coming more. Consider this. Carlos Alcaraz's ascent was no accident. We'll look at how Spain has built a pipeline for tennis greats. From NPR, I'm Elsa Chang. It's Monday, July 17th. This message comes from WISE, the app for doing things in other currencies. Send, spend, or receive money internationally, and always get the real-time mid-market exchange rate with no hidden fees. Download the WISE app today, or visit WISE.com. T's and C's apply. It's Consider This from NPR.

Part of what made Carlos Alcaraz's win over Novak Djokovic so surprising was where it happened, on Wimbledon's grass court. Yeah, grass, I must say that he surprised me, he surprised everyone, how quickly he adapted to grass. That's Djokovic speaking after the match. Alcaraz was known for his game on clay courts, which has a lot to do with how he learned the game. NPR's Rob Schmitz looked into it. Most tennis players hit a tennis ball. Carlos Alcaraz seems to launch it.

Truly sensational. The man from Murcia steps up yet again. The man from Murcia in southern Spain launches balls at angles that befuddle opponents. And when he's not hitting explosive forehands or a jumping backhand cannon, he's fond of changing the pace with flawless drop shots that send players scurrying to the net, usually in vain. And that's why the 20-year-old is number one in the world. How has he found that? No way!

When Alcaraz isn't dominating opponents, he trains here, at a tennis academy nestled among orange and olive orchards, where it takes a series of decrepit one-lane roads through the sun-drenched countryside north of Murcia to get here. Antonio Cascales founded this academy, named after the first player he guided to number one in the world, Juan Carlos Ferrero. It's not the best site in the world for a tennis academy,

but it's a place that's very peaceful with a good climate. The peace and quiet are ideal, he says, for focusing on tennis. Antonio Martinez-Cascales is short, bald, and enjoys quietly observing players. That's what he was doing seven years ago when he first saw Carlos Alcaraz play a match. The 13-year-old boy lost to someone older, but he made a deep impression. That's what he was doing seven years ago when he first saw Carlos Alcaraz play a match. The 13-year-old boy lost to someone older, but he made a deep impression. What I saw was a boy with a lot of talent, but a little anarchic. He didn't have a strict pattern of play, but you could tell right away he had promise.

Cascales says players from his home country tend to be harder working because of the surface they grew up hitting on. In the 1970s, Spain built more than a thousand tennis clubs, all of them with clay courts. So for 50 years, Spanish players have grown up playing on clay. The surface slows down the pace of play and it creates longer points. So you have players who learn how to work hard and play consistently. The tennis court building boom that Cascales just mentioned, it was overseen by Spain's most ruthless dictator, General Francisco Franco. Franco, deeply unpopular in the West, was enamored with Spanish tennis champion Monolo Santana, who brought Spain international fame by winning the U.S. Open, Wimbledon, and the French Open. Chris Lewitt, author of The Secrets of Spanish Tennis, says Franco was so inspired he ordered

the construction of thousands of tennis courts for the masses. Those investments, a decade or two later, paid off and there was a huge tennis boom in Spain. More players meant more coaches were needed. Lewitt says two of them came up with training methods that were enshrined in national manuals distributed to Spain's local clubs. One coach was a ballroom dancer, and he used geometric drills to focus on footwork. The other coach is still at it. Luis Bruguera, now 79 years old, coaches players here at an academy in Barcelona.

I'm often asked, why are there so many top tennis players from Spain? Well, it's because our system is good, and the Spanish character is also good. It's no coincidence that practically every country in the world uses these exercises now to train their players. Some coaches yell at their players. Others lecture them. Bruguera asks them questions. Where is your hand? Bruguera asks one player. The player raises his hand to show him.

Bruguera shakes his head, clicking his tongue in disappointment. No, this is your hand, he says, pointing to the face of the player's racket. player raises his hand to show him. Bruguero shakes his head, clicking his tongue in disappointment. No, this is your hand, he says, pointing to the face of the player's racket. Author Chris Lewis says Bruguero's training encompasses six pillars of what he calls the Spanish method. These include excellent footwork, defense, and consistency. But one of the most important pillars, says Lewis, is mental. All the young players in Spain are taught to suffer on the tennis court, which if you're not from Spain may sound a little odd or strange, but they really do believe that wholeheartedly.

And it's a big part of their philosophy and culture and the tennis culture in Spain and also to some extent the culture itself. And Lewitt says one player, Rafael Nadal, exemplifies this aspect of Spanish tennis more than anyone. Oh my words! Absolutely incredible from Rafael Nadal. He's not only the best Spanish player in history, but he's one of the best tennis players, period. The mentality, the energy, the willingness to chase every ball and fight. You know when you're playing a Spanish player, it's going to be a long day at the office because they never give up, they never tire, and they're going to fight you all the way to the end.

Numbers seem to back this up. According to the Association of Tennis Professionals, Spaniards made up an average of 13 of the top 100 men's players each year for the past two decades. Compare that to an average of only nine American men, despite the U.S. having seven times the population of Spain. Back at the Juan Carlos Ferrero Academy, Alcaraz coach Antonio Cascales says he believes Alcaraz will become one of the next tennis greats, alongside Nadal, Roger Federer, and Novak Djokovic.

In the creativity he uses in a typical match, I'd compare him to Federer. But in his tenacity and the way he fights to win a point, I'd compare him more to Rafa. And it's that Spanish fighting spirit, says Cascades, that usually wins out in the end. NPR's Rob Schmidt. It's Consider This from NPR. I'm Elsa Chang.