Tamara Arteaga Pérez

Sometimes I ask myself if keeping on playing padel is worth it, if all the sacrifices I have made make sense: separating from my parents, my sister, my grandparents, leaving Argentina, competing every two weeks in a different pace, losing a lot of moments (good and bad) of my wife and three children… Today I have no doubt: absolutely yes. Padel is my way of life and my children's too. If they ask me the same question when the end of my career is near the answer will probably be no, because I have given padel a thousand times more than what padel has given me. There's no tournament, trophy or award that compensates being away in my children's birthdays, in the family moments I haven't participated in, all the hugs in the bad moments I haven't given and I have missed. That's why, in each match and training I give my all. The best award of my list will be the tranquillity that comes with having tried my best, like that sponge that is squeezed until it has no water. That's the most accurate reflection of my professional life: I would never forgive myself if I didn't give till my last breath knowing all I have renounced for this dream.