Pablo Arraya, the pioneer who put Peru on the world tennis map: “If we all pulled in the same direction, we would produce champions like on a court”

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ROAR ON THE COURT

In 1983, when very few imagined a Peruvian lifting a trophy in the elite of this sport, Arraya won the ATP of Bordeaux and became the first to conquer a tournament of that category. After that came four more finals and a meteoric rise to 29th in the world ranking in 1984, an extraordinary mark for the time. But before becoming ‘The Tiger’, there was a boy from Córdoba who arrived in Peru almost without realizing that our country would end up becoming his definitive home.

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Pablo was born in Argentina but grew up in Lima with his sister Laura, another key figure in Peruvian tennis. Tennis was written in the family history. His parents played it in Córdoba and it was precisely that bond with the sport that ended up bringing the family to Peru.

Laura Arraya tells us that their father was called by the Peruvian Tennis Federation to lead youth development and that, almost overnight, he announced they would leave their city to start a new life. She was seven years old; Pablo, nine. “We arrived very young. It wasn’t easy because it was a new country and we didn’t know anything, but tennis ended up being our place,” says the tennis player.

The family’s base was the old Lawn Tennis, where they trained practically every day. There, the Arraya siblings began to take the sport more seriously until they quickly became part of the Peruvian youth teams. “We always represented Peru. Our parents felt very comfortable here and we grew up playing for the country,” Laura recalls. At 18, both officially obtained Peruvian nationality.

In Pablo’s memory, that time was “much more artisanal”: talent and intuition weighed more than any professional structure. “I was very lucky because I was very talented and at that time that was almost the only thing you needed,” he says from Paris, still immersed in the intensity of the circuit. “There wasn’t all the information there is now. Today there are metrics for everything: nutrition, injury prevention, physical preparation. We learned a lot on the go,” he adds.

Those who saw him play remember him for his explosive, intense, and fiercely competitive character. That’s where the nickname that would accompany him all his life was born. Naturalized Peruvian, Pablo went on to lead an unforgettable generation alongside Jaime Yzaga, Carlos Di Laura, and Alejo Aramburú, with whom he starred in some of the most memorable pages of the Davis Cup. “We were a great team,” he says by phone. “We lost several times against countries that later became champions. Maybe we lacked sharing more information among ourselves because it was a very individual sport, but there was a lot of talent,” he adds.

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After retiring from professional tennis, the United States appeared as a natural continuation of his life linked to the racket. He currently lives in Los Angeles and works as a coach at one of the most exclusive clubs in Beverly Hills, training both young talents and businessmen and celebrities. But stillness was never compatible with him. These days, his life goes between planes, hotels, and tournaments. “My base is in Los Angeles, but I spend half the time traveling the ATP circuit,” he says. “The racket has been my passport all my life.”

LOOKING TO THE FUTURE

If there is something that excites Pablo Arraya today, it is the feeling that Peruvian tennis is going through a new moment of hope thanks to the stellar appearance of Ignacio Buse. He has followed him since he was a teenager and assures that what impresses him most is not only his talent but the level of commitment he has to his career. “He has given 100% to his profession,” he explains. “It’s not just what he does on the court. It’s the physical preparation, nutrition, rest, the intensity with which he trains. I take my hat off to him,” he says.

Arraya also highlights the work of the team around Buse, led by the Spaniard Gabriel Urpí. He considers that there is one of the main differences with his own generation: today information and preparation are much more advanced.

But beyond Ignacio Buse, there is another name that fills him with hope: Lucciana Pérez. Arraya considers that the best collegiate tennis player in the United States has everything to become an important figure in Peruvian tennis. The connection is also close: his sister Laura works directly in the development of national women’s tennis. “The biggest hope I have is with Lucciana,” Pablo confesses. “We believe that when she makes the jump to professionalism she can be a monster,” he foresees.

Still, he insists that the great challenge of Peruvian tennis is not talent but organization. ‘The Tiger’ states that the country produces players of enormous level almost naturally, but that there is still a need to build a more solid structure and better communication between coaches, academies, and officials. “In Peru, incredible champions always emerge,” he says. “But if we all pulled in the same direction, we would produce champions like crazy,” he concludes. //

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