When Henrique Rocha was 15, he moved roughly 300 kilometres from his home in Porto, Portugal to begin training in Lisbon, at the Portuguese Tennis Federation. It was a big transition that forced the teenager to rapidly mature.
But the hard work and dedication is now paying off for Rocha, who is eighth in the PIF ATP Live Race To Jeddah and aiming for his maiden trip to the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF. After spending much of the 2023 season on the ITF World Tennis Tour and enduring through an intense stretch of 85 singles matches last year, Rocha has made a seamless transition to the ATP Challenger Tour.
“Four years ago I would say I was still like a baby compared to now. Right now I feel way more mature, maybe more mature than others. I would say that's why I'm improving a bit faster,” Rocha told ATPTour.com. “That's helped me not only in matches to be more consistent, more focussed at certain points, but also during practice and putting in more effort, anything.”
Alongside Rocha in his first full Challenger season is his coach Pedro Sousa, who retired from his own playing career last October. Sousa immediately stepped into a coaching role at the Federation, spending some weeks with Rocha and other times with 21-year-old Jaime Faria.
[ATP APP]Sousa remembers meeting Rocha and practising with him for the first time at the Federation. What stuck out to the eight-time ATP Challenger Tour champion?
“His power is not normal. His forehand, his explosion were very good and impressive for a kid who was 15,” Sousa said. “The way he already moved and hit the forehand, it’s unbelievable.
“At least in Portugal, we are not used to seeing that a lot of times. We don’t have that many players, but even for the rest of the world, it’s not that common the power he can put in his shot, especially in his forehand. I think today a lot of people come to me and say, ‘Look, he doesn’t need all that power to play’. I think for a lot of people, it’s impressive.”
That free-hitting firepower helped Rocha capture his maiden ATP Challenger Tour title in Murcia this March. In Rocha’s opinion, one area of his game that he has developed while competing at the Challenger level is week-to-week consistency.
“In tennis, the more you do it, the better it will be. Every ball counts,” Rocha said. “That's what I learned the past few months, past years. In practice especially, sometimes it's harder in practice but it's where it counts the most.
“I think from the beginning of the year, I already had a good level, but I have been more consistent every week. That's what we were looking for the most this year. Also, to improve a lot my return and my serve, that's something I still have to work on of course, but some aspects are much better.”
Though Rocha and Sousa are in their first full season travelling together, they have had a close relationship for several years. One of their favourite memories together did not happen on the tennis court, but rather, at Sousa’s wedding.
“My wedding was really fun because Henrique was like 16 or 17 and he and all the kids of the Federation were there. Of course I had to invite everyone from the team,” Sousa said. “He was a friend already, so it makes sense for him to go. It was a lot of fun.”
Rocha, currently at a career-high No. 164 in the PIF ATP Rankings, believes that tight-knit player-coach relationship helps make life on the road more enjoyable.
“If we are spending 24 hours with someone, it should be someone like Pedro who is also a friend, someone you like to be with,” Rocha said. “It's just nice to be with someone like that. It's great that we have that relationship.”
With three months remaining in the ATP Challenger Tour season, Rocha is seeking to add his name to the record books. He could become the first Portuguese player to qualify for the 20-and-under Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF, which runs from 18-22 December in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
“For me it's an amazing opportunity. It was my goal since the beginning of the season. It is something I will try to focus on with the months we have left. I will try everything I can to go there,” Rocha said. “I think it would be an amazing experience for me.”
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