The day before a 19-year-old Carlos Alcaraz won his first major title at the 2022 US Open, there was another Spanish teenager who lifted the Flushing Meadows junior trophy in the shadows of Arthur Ashe Stadium. That was Martin Landaluce.
While Alcaraz would go on to triumph in the biggest tennis-only stadium in the world and assure his climb to World No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings, Landaluce, then 16, became junior champion on a much smaller Court 11. Back home in Spain, the whole country was following Landaluce’s result and buzzing about the teenager’s potential.
How fast can Landaluce rise? Can he too reach the top of the game as a teen? Is he the next Spanish great?
With all of the the outside noise, Landaluce sought advice from Alcaraz following the US Open.
“I was asking him, ‘How do you manage to be with one million [followers], or all of your country above you, watching you, saying, 'You have to be this, or you have to be this number’.' It’s very difficult,” Landaluce told ATPTour.com.
“He was very nice because he managed that very naturally. That’s special and I try to be like him in that, because it’s very important.”
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“‘Try to be part of Instagram, social media, only with your family and that will get rid of [a lot of] expectation,’” Landaluce recalled.
Less than two weeks after Landaluce won the US Open boys’ singles trophy, he met Felipe VI, King of Spain.
Landaluce, Alcaraz and Spanish wheelchair tennis player Martin de la Puente had the chance of a lifetime to step inside Zarzuela Palace and meet the Spanish king.
“Imagine a 16-year-old guy being there with a king. That was very, very nerve-racking for me,” Landaluce said. “I don’t get nervous for many things and that was very big. I enjoyed it a lot. He’s a really nice guy.”
If there is anybody living the Spanish teenage dream, it is Landaluce. Whether it is meeting the king or practising with 92-time tour-level titlist Rafael Nadal and World No. 3 Alcaraz.
“That’s one of the best things I’ve experienced in my career. The two big references for me,” Landaluce said. “Rafa, all of my life, watching him, trying to be like him. And now Carlos. They are very good people. I love playing with them. I try as much as I can to practise with them, to ask them questions, it’s a very good experience.”
Landaluce grew up in a home full of tennis fanatics. His father, Alejandro, still competes on the ITF Seniors Tour. The #NextGenATP 18-year-old had a racquet in his hand even before he turned one. He would practise with his mother Elena in the doubles alley while his siblings, Lucas and Alejandra, would take lessons from their father. Afterwards, Martin would hit with his father for 10 to 15 minutes.
But it was Martin, the youngest of the three, who rose to junior No. 1 and is now beginning his pro career on the ATP Challenger Tour. Landaluce is based in Madrid, where he was born, and calls the Rafa Nadal Academy by Movistar his “second home”.
The ATP Masters 1000 event in Madrid ignited Landaluce’s ambition to become a professional.
“I was there watching many times like, ‘I want to be there. I want to play there and win the tournament’. It’s a great goal to have in mind,” said Landaluce, who received a main draw wild card the past two years at the Mutua Madrid Open.
One vivid memory from the tournament sticks out to Landaluce.
“I remember watching [Nikoloz] Basilashvili... I remember that match thinking, ‘Wow, I want to play like this!’ He was doing amazing winners,” Landaluce said. “I think it is one of the matches that I remember that was [impactful].”
As fans begin to follow Landaluce, they will be drawn to the Spaniard’s own brand of fearless tennis.
“I don’t leave anything on court," Landaluce said. "I like to be very brave in difficult moments."
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