In the footsteps of Rafa Nadal

He wanted to be a doctor, but not any more, because sport absorbs him full-time. In any case, the story could have been very different if that summer, some years back, someone had not dropped out from the Ses Puntetes tennis school in Santanyí at the last minute, meaning little Jaume, who was on the waiting list, could take their place. At the time of writing this article, Munar is at number 86 of the ATP rankings, the classification of the best tennis players in the world which is headed up by another Mallorcan: Rafael Nadal.

When Rafael Nadal’s name comes up in the conversation, Jaume Munar’s face reflects a sincere, deep admiration for the best Spanish sportsperson of all time, the winner of 19 Grand Slams to date. “I met Rafa when I was 15 and I have to say he has always helped me a lot. Seeing what kind of person he is after all he has achieved demonstrates his class as a champion and a human being. When I started playing on the ATP circuit he explained to me what I would encounter, so I wasn’t taken so much by surprise. This year I have played in a lot of ATP tournaments and I reached the quarter-finals in nearly all of them.” 

When he isn’t flying from here to there all over the world, fighting to win his first professional tournament, Munar usually trains at the Rafa Nadal Academy, in Manacor. And then he returns to Santanyí, his home, where his family and friends await him. The place where he was born and is happy to live.

Jaume Munar’s romance with tennis was by no means love at first sight. Initially, like many children of his age, what he liked was playing football. Tennis came later, to fill up his spare time. “The Ses Puntetes Sports Association was my first club. Where there used to be tennis courts, there are now two football pitches. When they built them, I had to go and train in Palma. And from Palma I went to Barcelona, where I spent some years in the Centro de Alto Rendimiento (CAR, the high performance centre) until returning to Mallorca.” 

The triumph that put him on the circuit and caught the attention of the media was the one he managed to wrest from David Ferrer — a Spanish tennis icon and winner of the Davis Cup — in the first round of the Roland Garros 2018, which would be his first victory in a Grand Slam.

Munar concludes 2019 having competed for 34 weeks, whereas usually an ATP player would do so for 25 to 30 weeks. “The last half-year was very hard, now I know that you have to respect the resting time so as not to become saturated both physically and mentally,” he admits, at the same time as he points to the Rafa Nadal Academy and his two coaches, Tomeu Salvà and Pedro Clar, as those responsible for his evolution on the court. 

“All the experiences form part of the road, and I am who I am thanks to the good times and the bad times. Every phase has its more or less positive side. Fortunately I still have to improve in nearly everything, and learn many things beyond tennis itself – to regulate anxiety, be calmer, gain experience. This year I am going to add a psychologist to my team. I know that as I grow and mature, everything will become easier.”

During these holidays Munar will leave his racquet alone. He intends to play golf, walk in the mountains and go fishing, as well as share the time he lacks over the year with his family and friends. 

“I am an aggressive player, although often I don’t manage to exploit all my potential. My best stroke is the service. On a hard court I find the right harder, and on a clay court it’s the other way round. I don’t work on a specific stroke. I am getting better as time goes by. Ultimately, tennis is a repetition sport: the more you practise, the better you do it. That’s the only secret.”