There was a time, not too long ago, when Peruvians watched tennis. We had football, NBA, and athletics with Pocho Rospigliosi, motorsport and boxing with Kike Pérez, and when the Davis Cup started, we had to stick to Channel 7 to listen to Norma Baylón, Miguel Maúrtua, and Felipe Carbonell decipher the intricacies of this game that, despite being played in white, was always lived with passion.
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With them, we learned how to go to war with Pablo Arraya, hero of the battle of Buenos Aires in '86, when Argentine tennis seemed taken over by hooligans and the Tiger, full of swagger, smiled at them while directing the insults they showered him with from the stands.
We also learned that every stroke could be a demonstration of beauty if it came from Jaime Yzaga's right hand, owner of the most sublime backhand on the circuit in those wonderful years.
In '88, Agassi came in jeans, with an untamed mane and endless vitality. Jaime won an extremely long first set 8-6, although he ended up losing 3-1 in a match that lasted two days due to lack of light. We also saw Aramburú's first shots, enjoyed Di Laura, met Tupi, Chino, and the great Lucho Horna, winner of the 2008 doubles at Roland Garros.
Because of them - and because of Bartolomé Puiggrós and Gerardo Farfán in these very pages - we followed Laura Arraya and Pilar Vásquez, our ladies who waved the red and white flag on the world's main courts. Laura Arraya reached 14th in the world and Jaime Yzaga 18th. After Alejandro Olmedo, no Peruvian reached such heights as they did.
Suddenly, there was a void, a long parenthesis that seemed eternal. Until a few days ago, a couple of kids made this football-obsessed country turn its eyes towards them. One is named Juan Pablo Varillas, currently on an upward trajectory, ranked among the top 61 players in the world at an age when others start to decline. She is a little heroine, sudden like Kina Malpartida, because in our Peru, there seems to be only room for players like Cuevitas, Zambranos, and Valeras. Her name is Lucciana Pérez, just over 160 centimeters tall, but she has a heart that bursts in her chest.
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Ricardo Montoya, one of the few tennis specialists in the country, praises her powerful forehand and her composure to overcome critical moments. Her grandfather, former referee Edison Pérez - in an interview with Juan Carlos Esteves - proudly says that his Luchi never gives up. To reach the final of Roland Garros, she defeated two Russians who surpassed her in height and technique, fighting for every point as if her life depended on it.
Juanpi is already on track in the ATP professional circuit. Lucciana is at a turning point. Tennis is a complex sport that requires not only talent, technique, and physical preparation, but also mental strength and money to compete. The lack of resources sometimes breaks persistence, and many young people prefer to prioritize their studies over pursuing an uncertain career. "The road is long and what she has achieved is a clear sign that she's doing things right," says Pablo Arraya. Only Lucciana will decide what comes next.
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