Sanyo Gutiérrez is one of the highlights of the World Padel Tour, taking place this week at the Technification Center. Argentinian but entirely based in Alicante and shows its eternal quality
How do you feel physically after a tough week in Doha?
Doha was not my best tournament. I played with my nephew and they knocked us out in the first round so physical wear and tear wasn’t very good. We had two long journeys, but then I was able to rest and prepare for the Alicante tournament in the best way possible.
And emotionally?
Ready for Alicante. Currently, where we live and hope to be for a long time is my place of residence. I think I’m starting to play at home.
Is this how you feel?
Yes, I think I already play local in Alicante because once I decide to come here – well, there are people who come and don’t know I’m passing by on the street and they ask if I’m on vacation. they don’t know, but I won’t give that information about networks and others- but hey, I already feel local in Alicante.
Why did you decide on Alicante?
Whenever we came to play, I really liked the weather, the people, the quality of life… I didn’t know much, but I knew all of Playa de San Juan, and voila, we’re making the change. when my son was born. I thought about it and wanted to give it a life by the sea and in good weather; I think Alicante has good people, good atmosphere and above all the weather helps a lot.
What different factor does the city have for paddle tennis?
Apart from the weather, I also took into account my good relationship with Juan Carlos Ferrero when making the decision to come. I told him about this as we were having coffee at a tournament in Alicante, he said they wanted to do something with paddle tennis and do something with my image in the academy. Bringing the whole topic of paddle tennis was interesting to me and gave me one more reason to come. I have my academy, my home and a place where kids from all over the world can study and want to be professional padel players. They have all the possibilities to come and live here. The concept of academy, which is much more common in tennis, is absent in paddle tennis and I think we were one of the first to present it to them with this project.
How were your first months here?
Alicante has welcomed me very well and I love it more and more each day. We are settling in, we still have no home and we are waiting for our beloved home, so we are slowly settling in. We like everything we’ve seen so far. I have everything I need on a professional level and everything we are looking for at a family level so we are very comfortable.