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JUAN'S STORY
An unbridled passion for the game
I was born in Valparaiso, Chile on September 23, 1956. Son of a man in
pursuit of his dream took me to Punta Arenas, the southern most city in the
world. It was in that city that I had my first encounter with the game.
After many houses and neighborhood changes, my family moved to a home
that was located a few blocks from the only tennis club in the city. The
Magallanes Tennis Lawn had, at that time, one indoor and two outdoor courts
that were never used due to the year round severe winter weather. The club
was surrounded by a beautiful park with big trees and many hide outs, making
the perfect playing grounds.
I began offering my services as a ball boy which was very welcomed. Suddenly
I started to enjoy watching the game, and got this urge to hit balls. I made a
wooden paddle and during the times the court was not used , I would hit
against the wall. A member gave me an old racquet with some broken strings
and with the help of my brother we fixed the racquet which allowed me to play
for about a month or so. My parents recognized the passion I had developed for
Tennis, and with my 12th birthday around the corner my present was a no
brainer. I got my first racquet!
Three months later my parents were hired by the club as Club Supervisors, so
we move to the club. The best player in the club took me under his wing and
guided me through the fundamentals of the game and at that point my life in
tennis was launched.
As a junior I grew up playing with adults, and because of the great distances
needed to travel to Santiago (the capital) I had no shot at competing in any
national tournament. I became one of the top players in the club. The cold
weather was affecting my mothers’ health so my father decided to move north
to warmer climate. We ended up in a city name Arica (the northern most city of
my country) with perfect temperature but very little tennis. Within a year, at age
15, I was in the top 3 players of the city with no where to go in regards to my
game. Once again I was too far from the capital, so there was no way for me to
go and compete in any national tournaments. Finally in the mid 70’s my father
moved the family to a more central region. By that time I was seventeen and my
junior career was close to the end. I was able to play one National tournament
in which I passed a few rounds defeating a player that had done very well at the
Banana Bowl in Brazil. This event was my competitive junior exposure to the
game. It was time to make a decision in regards to the direction I wanted to
take in my life. There are no sport scholarships in the Universities in Chile,
therefore I had to choose between college or tennis. My heart was with tennis,
and as long as I dedicated myself to the fullest, my parents were my strongest
supporters.
For four years I played the men’s national circuit in my country. Most of the
tournaments had some type of prize money and I was doing very well reaching
a ranking in the top ten. Between playing tournaments, stringing a racquet here
and giving a lesson there , I was able to survive that period. It is now April 1978
and the best club in Vina del Mar( a town about one and half hour by public
transportation) sponsored me with a membership which gave me access to a
lot of players and better opportunities to train. A dear friend that played a big
role in getting that membership, also made it possible for the Tennis
Federation to give me a round trip ticket and $350.00 cash to go to the USA to
play professional tennis.
Soon after arriving in the United States, I got an offer to play for a college in
America, which meant room, food, education, tennis and more…. all for free!
Yes, it was a dream come true, but my dream was to play pro tennis. This
meant sleeping in laundry rooms, garages, cars, vans, sharing hotel rooms
with 7 other players etc. Room service left overs placed in the hall, were a great
source of food and athletic tape worked very well to cover the holes in the
shoes.
After two years on the tour of satellites and challengers I had established my
self at that level. I then began pursuing the qualifying of Grand Prixs which was
the name of the best tournaments of the ATP pro circuit at that time. To make a
long story short, by December 1981, I had reached my highest ranking of 145
and played top 10 players such as John McEnroe, Guillermo Vilas, Gene
Meyer, Jose Luis Clerc and Andres Gomez. I gave them a good match, but
Andres was my only triumph.
After only four years on the tour, circumstances of life forced me to retire.
For one and half years I taught tennis at a club in Ft. Lauderdale and it was at
this time when I truly began to learn about the game. I learned to slice the
backhand, a shot that could have been of great help to me on the tour. In mid
1982, after working for the summer in West Hampton Beach, I played a few
Satellites and Challengers. Within two months, I had accumulated 8 ATP
points and considered a come back, but a torn hamstring muscle during a
tournament in Bahamas made it the last call in my pro player career. For five
years I directed the programs and operations of a tennis club located at Royal
Palm Polo in Boca Raton.
A call from Jimmy Evert asking to be a sparring partner for Chrissie during the
times when she was home, became the sparkle of which turned out to be a
very successful pro coaching experience.
During these years I had the great fortune to work with players such as Chris
Evert, Arantxa Sanchez, Brenda Schultz, Natalia Zvereva, Lori McNeil and
Gabriela Sabatini.
When Gaby retired it was a perfect time for me to settle down and begin to
really enjoy my family. From that moment until now I have been involved with
the game in many ways.
I feel satisfied with the accomplishment of my career dreams because
playing the ATP tour gave me the opportunity to compete against some of the
best players in the world at the time and in the biggest arenas. It gave me the
human knowledge of what it really feels like and gave me the understanding of
what it really takes not to make it but just to have a chance.
Coaching on the WTA tour allowed me to implement some of my philosophies
in the games of some superb players and witness those philosophies work.
My last dream is to make all around players with a distinctive form of playing so
that they can reach the top of their potential.
My program, Radical Tennis is the path I have created to accomplish this last
dream.
pursuit of his dream took me to Punta Arenas, the southern most city in the
world. It was in that city that I had my first encounter with the game.
After many houses and neighborhood changes, my family moved to a home
that was located a few blocks from the only tennis club in the city. The
Magallanes Tennis Lawn had, at that time, one indoor and two outdoor courts
that were never used due to the year round severe winter weather. The club
was surrounded by a beautiful park with big trees and many hide outs, making
the perfect playing grounds.
I began offering my services as a ball boy which was very welcomed. Suddenly
I started to enjoy watching the game, and got this urge to hit balls. I made a
wooden paddle and during the times the court was not used , I would hit
against the wall. A member gave me an old racquet with some broken strings
and with the help of my brother we fixed the racquet which allowed me to play
for about a month or so. My parents recognized the passion I had developed for
Tennis, and with my 12th birthday around the corner my present was a no
brainer. I got my first racquet!
Three months later my parents were hired by the club as Club Supervisors, so
we move to the club. The best player in the club took me under his wing and
guided me through the fundamentals of the game and at that point my life in
tennis was launched.
As a junior I grew up playing with adults, and because of the great distances
needed to travel to Santiago (the capital) I had no shot at competing in any
national tournament. I became one of the top players in the club. The cold
weather was affecting my mothers’ health so my father decided to move north
to warmer climate. We ended up in a city name Arica (the northern most city of
my country) with perfect temperature but very little tennis. Within a year, at age
15, I was in the top 3 players of the city with no where to go in regards to my
game. Once again I was too far from the capital, so there was no way for me to
go and compete in any national tournaments. Finally in the mid 70’s my father
moved the family to a more central region. By that time I was seventeen and my
junior career was close to the end. I was able to play one National tournament
in which I passed a few rounds defeating a player that had done very well at the
Banana Bowl in Brazil. This event was my competitive junior exposure to the
game. It was time to make a decision in regards to the direction I wanted to
take in my life. There are no sport scholarships in the Universities in Chile,
therefore I had to choose between college or tennis. My heart was with tennis,
and as long as I dedicated myself to the fullest, my parents were my strongest
supporters.
For four years I played the men’s national circuit in my country. Most of the
tournaments had some type of prize money and I was doing very well reaching
a ranking in the top ten. Between playing tournaments, stringing a racquet here
and giving a lesson there , I was able to survive that period. It is now April 1978
and the best club in Vina del Mar( a town about one and half hour by public
transportation) sponsored me with a membership which gave me access to a
lot of players and better opportunities to train. A dear friend that played a big
role in getting that membership, also made it possible for the Tennis
Federation to give me a round trip ticket and $350.00 cash to go to the USA to
play professional tennis.
Soon after arriving in the United States, I got an offer to play for a college in
America, which meant room, food, education, tennis and more…. all for free!
Yes, it was a dream come true, but my dream was to play pro tennis. This
meant sleeping in laundry rooms, garages, cars, vans, sharing hotel rooms
with 7 other players etc. Room service left overs placed in the hall, were a great
source of food and athletic tape worked very well to cover the holes in the
shoes.
After two years on the tour of satellites and challengers I had established my
self at that level. I then began pursuing the qualifying of Grand Prixs which was
the name of the best tournaments of the ATP pro circuit at that time. To make a
long story short, by December 1981, I had reached my highest ranking of 145
and played top 10 players such as John McEnroe, Guillermo Vilas, Gene
Meyer, Jose Luis Clerc and Andres Gomez. I gave them a good match, but
Andres was my only triumph.
After only four years on the tour, circumstances of life forced me to retire.
For one and half years I taught tennis at a club in Ft. Lauderdale and it was at
this time when I truly began to learn about the game. I learned to slice the
backhand, a shot that could have been of great help to me on the tour. In mid
1982, after working for the summer in West Hampton Beach, I played a few
Satellites and Challengers. Within two months, I had accumulated 8 ATP
points and considered a come back, but a torn hamstring muscle during a
tournament in Bahamas made it the last call in my pro player career. For five
years I directed the programs and operations of a tennis club located at Royal
Palm Polo in Boca Raton.
A call from Jimmy Evert asking to be a sparring partner for Chrissie during the
times when she was home, became the sparkle of which turned out to be a
very successful pro coaching experience.
During these years I had the great fortune to work with players such as Chris
Evert, Arantxa Sanchez, Brenda Schultz, Natalia Zvereva, Lori McNeil and
Gabriela Sabatini.
When Gaby retired it was a perfect time for me to settle down and begin to
really enjoy my family. From that moment until now I have been involved with
the game in many ways.
I feel satisfied with the accomplishment of my career dreams because
playing the ATP tour gave me the opportunity to compete against some of the
best players in the world at the time and in the biggest arenas. It gave me the
human knowledge of what it really feels like and gave me the understanding of
what it really takes not to make it but just to have a chance.
Coaching on the WTA tour allowed me to implement some of my philosophies
in the games of some superb players and witness those philosophies work.
My last dream is to make all around players with a distinctive form of playing so
that they can reach the top of their potential.
My program, Radical Tennis is the path I have created to accomplish this last
dream.
“Working with Juan
brought to my life a period
of growth both on the
personal side as well as
the professional. I admire
Juan’s great ability to
teach. He finds ways to
transmit his knowledge
and experience through a
full commitment and
responsibility. Juan is a
person with clear
objectives and
accomplishes them with
patience, understanding
and support.
GABRIELA SABATINI
brought to my life a period
of growth both on the
personal side as well as
the professional. I admire
Juan’s great ability to
teach. He finds ways to
transmit his knowledge
and experience through a
full commitment and
responsibility. Juan is a
person with clear
objectives and
accomplishes them with
patience, understanding
and support.
GABRIELA SABATINI
"Coaching on the WTA
tour allowed me to
implement some of my
philosophies in the
games of some superb
players and witness
those philosophies
work. My last dream is
to make all around
players with a
distinctive form of
playing so that they can
reach the top of their
potential. "
Juan Nunez
tour allowed me to
implement some of my
philosophies in the
games of some superb
players and witness
those philosophies
work. My last dream is
to make all around
players with a
distinctive form of
playing so that they can
reach the top of their
potential. "
Juan Nunez
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Valparaiso
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