Carlos Cuadrado's catharsis after his friends thought he had "gone crazy."

BarcelonaAfter reaching the pinnacle of tennis and winning the Roland Garros junior tournament, Carlos Cuadrado suffered a series of serious injuries that forced him into a premature and traumatic retirement. "I was frustrated and had to go through a period of grief to stop being constantly angry. I didn't expect to have to stop playing tennis so young. I had never even considered it. The process of accepting it was very difficult. Stopping competing left a huge void in me; it was the hardest moment of my life," he explains to 'A'.

"I moved to Australia to try to get back on my feet. I bought a sailboat. After my experience in the world of tennis, I needed to test myself, and going out to sea was the perfect excuse to live an adventure and travel. The challenge of sailing around the world was the result," Cuadrado recalls.

"Everyone around me thought I'd gone mad. They were very worried, but I told them that madness was staying on the ground. I felt a force I couldn't understand pushing me towards the sea. I needed to travel and see the world. I didn't know how far I would go or how long I would stay, but I felt like I had to turn around, and discover the purpose of my life from that moment on," he says.

The voyage became an emotional roller coaster. "I had good days and bad days. I had no expectations. After the first few months of sailing, I found the calm I was looking for, away from the fierce competition of tennis. The challenge became a way of life. I knew that if I attempted to cross an ocean, I would experience dangerous moments, but this was part of the new experience," he says.

Cuadrado found some parallels between tennis and sailing. "There are obvious similarities. From the preparation to the moments of solitude. Sailing was like a competition that required me to be active and positive to solve things that weren't going well," he analyzes. The former tennis player had to readjust, looking for temporary work when he ran out of money to pay for repairs. "Every setback became a challenge. You constantly have to look for solutions, like what happens in tennis when an opponent changes the way you play and you start losing points. Having spent so many years as an elite athlete gave me values and qualities that allowed me to solve problems without any problems."

Most of Cuadrado's generation reached the tennis elite, where they established themselves. He is clear: "I don't look back on their careers with envy or resentment, but with the frustration of thinking that I was at the same level and that I haven't been able to enjoy the same opportunities. For years, I couldn't even step onto a court to play. I was happy for them, for whom I have great admiration, but after a 13-year period of mourning, I was able to return to the world of tennis."

"Young tennis hopefuls are taught to compete, but no one prepares us for when things go wrong. When you're young, you don't think. It's very unusual for injuries to halt a career so quickly. Medicine and physical therapy have improved a lot, and I suppose my treatment would be different now. It was different, and I suffered a lot," he explains.

"Tennis, my identity"

"Sailing is a hobby I'll have forever. Stepping away from tennis helped me understand that I had to come back. Tennis is part of my life, part of my identity. It's a world to which I can still contribute so much," explains Cuadrado, who is now a coach. His big project is Emerson Jones. "I want to help her make the transition to the professional world."

"If I could talk to my self from a few years ago, I would give myself advice on how to stay calm. I was in a hurry because an athletic career is long. I had to get my body on the same level as my tennis," summarizes Cuadrado, who has summarized his experience in a book (An unpredictable rival, Plaza & Janés). The story combines adventures with personal growth tips. "When I told the things that had happened to me with the Mirniy Ocean, everyone told me I should write a book, and that's what I did."