–Are we looking for a more secluded, more secluded place? –Conchita Martínez (51) asks me as we walk through the cafeteria of the Real Club de Tenis Barcelona (RCTB).
(She is an honorary member of the club, another recognition of her wonderful professional career, successful as a tennis player, coach, commentator, captain, executive, Renaissance woman...).
We go from here to there and, in our drift, some partner stops us, tries to start a conversation with the protagonist:
–Man, Conchita!
We're in a hurry, so Conchita Martínez – 1994 Wimbledon champion, former world number 2, former captain of the Davis Cup and Fed Cup, former coach of Garbiñe Muguruza, today director of the 2023 Billie Jean King Cup Finals (so It is now called the Fed Cup: it is held between November 7 and 12 in Seville) – stops for a moment, greets politely and continues.
We went up to the upper floor of the clubhouse, found a quiet place on the terrace and took a seat there.
"Come, here," he tells me.
Xavi Cervera, the photographer, photographs us as we speak.
I'm ready to enjoy a good conversation with a tennis legend.
Do you still play?
I did an exhibition at Wimbledon this July. Although I don't play every day, to be honest.
And don't you miss him?
I occupy my time with other things. If I'm training someone, then I do spend some time on the court. But beyond that, I barely grip the racket.
And if you pick up a racket, as you did for example in London, what do you feel? In what way do you see that you are performing less?
Well, this can no longer be called competition. Of course, I'm not good with the racket because I'm not playing.
Until a few months ago, you were training Garbiñe Muguruza, now away from the slopes. Will we see Muguruza active again?
I think it is she who should talk about herself, as she is already doing. I prefer not to touch on that topic.
(Muguruza, winner of two Grand Slam titles and former WTA No. 1, left the circuit in January and has not competed since. At the time, she had talked about a temporary retirement. However, she did not He has given a date for his return and, as he recently commented, he is not even thinking about it).
How do you suffer more, as a player or as a coach?
The nerves are always there, although the feelings are different. Having butterflies in your stomach is okay, but being too nervous is not good. When you play, you have more control of what happens in there. Furthermore, in my time (between the 90s and the beginning of this century), coaches hardly had room to act. Let's see, being a coach is difficult and there is more frustration, because you are not playing.
Would you be a coach again?
The possibility is always there. And I like to do it.
Would you be selective?
It does not work like that. You don't go out there to see who you train, you don't select them. They have to come get you. And for now I prefer to take a break. It's been a few years of travel. If a possibility arises, then I will be there.
And is current tennis very different from that of its times?
It's totally different...
In what sense?
In my time, there were Graf, Seles, the Williams, Davenport, Capriati... Before there was more variety and angles, more creativity and rhythms. Now tennis is more direct and requires more preparation and more prevention.
(Conchita Martínez was riding between the times of Navratilova and Graf to the era of Williams and Sharapova).
More physical?
Tennis has advanced to more power. You must anticipate the blow, you need extra speed.
And to keep up with the calendar?
The intensity of the calendar has always been there. It's true that, in our time, you could end up in November and spend two months disconnecting, or recovering from an injury, or starting preseason. Now all that is more complicated, you don't start as fresh.
But it's like that for those who play the masters tournaments, or the Davis and the Billie Jean King Cup. Not for the rest, right?
There are tournaments until December. Many need to add points to advance in the ranking.
You didn't suffer so much, you were always among the best.
Sharing the time with Arantxa Sánchez Vicario pushed us to be better. We won five Fed Cups and played five other finals. And there are the Olympic medals... Ours was a healthy rivalry, the triumphs of both made us believe in ourselves.
Did you think you would achieve what you have achieved?
Between the ages of four and eight we lived in Madrid, and then we returned to Monzón (Huesca). I was interested in sports, I could have been an athlete, a sprinter, but from the kitchen at home I could see two tennis courts that belonged to Hidro Nitro, the company where my father (Cecilio) worked. Business people played there. And there was also a pediment. One day I went down and went to the fronton.
And how old was he?
Nine.
And then?
That's how it all started, it was destiny. If we had continued in Madrid, perhaps I would not have discovered the racket. It was José María San Vicente who discovered me. He ran a children's school and played, and he told my father: “The girl is aiming, bring her this Saturday.” He saw talent, he saw that he learned quickly, he became my first coach: soon, the man was training me when he left work, at night, until very late.
That's passion.
I liked it, I think so, one thing led to another. Fry tournaments came, it evolved. I was privileged. I spent a lot of time in the Top 10.
And he made money. Did she feel aggrieved about the male circuit?
Now, in the Grand Slams, the check is the same for them. Is there much left until full equality? For sure yes. But progress has been made towards good conditions, I have been witnessing that process with the help of players from other times, led by Billie Jean King herself.
