Interview with Peter Consuegra

Side Spin today brings you a new interview with... Peter Consuegra!

Good afternoon, Peter, well introduce yourself, introduce yourself, let us know a little more about you.

Peter Consuegra, 26 years old, and has spent half his life playing paddle tennis. Since I was 13 years old I have been competing at the regional and national level. However, it wasn't until last year that I decided to step up and try to make a name for myself on the professional circuit. In 2020 I competed in my first two WPT (Barcelona and Sardinia) and I spent the whole year (what circumstances allowed) competing in the first category of the Madrid federation. For this reason, this year I have decided to bet everything and double my training hours and form a team of great professionals around me (Two coaches: Hugo Cases and Ángel Gonzáles; physical trainer: Victor Renes; psychologist: Juan Cañadas; nutritionist: Jorge Lozoya ).

I intend to achieve better sporting results than last year, but above all I think about improving my training and my head to get the best version of myself. This second aspect is especially important to me, because in addition to being a paddle tennis player I am a sports psychologist.

• What does it cost for a previous player and challenger to be a WPT player? Can you live from it, if you don't enter the picture?

The truth is that today I have only played the pre-previews, but at the cost level we could say that it is the same. If you are not an infielder it is difficult to make a living from paddle tennis, you need the support of various sponsors regardless of the level you have, but it is necessary to complement the sports competition with other work in order to survive.

• How do you get sponsors, to receive that much-needed help?

It is very important to stay active on social media. In the end, a brand seeks to have visibility beyond your sports results, if you are an impressive player, but only your friends know, you will achieve little. Of course, if you are an infielder you will already have a high media impact, but those of us below have to make an extra effort to stay active on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc.

Move, look for contacts, offer yourself, be proactive, work, work and work.

Of course, it is also important to transmit values ​​on the track and off it. When you represent a brand you are also defending a way of understanding sport and facing life in general. In the end, people tend to associate brands with athletes, and it is your responsibility to leave it in a good place.

• How would you value playing for a brand that would allow you to forget about the search for sponsors?

Like a great privilege. Counting on a brand that offers you everything you need, you can be 100% focused on your training and giving the best of yourself. All that noise (uncertainty, fear, divided attention, etc.) would disappear and being able to focus "only" on my work as an athlete would certainly be a dream with a potential increase in my chances of success.

• Do you shrink your arm in the first round, when you have made a sacrifice to go to a tournament?

Definitely. The first round is always the most difficult. It becomes more difficult to escape from everything that going to a tournament outside your community entails, it is still a new stimulus and you have to get used to that new context. In addition, the players live a lot from our feelings and it is that first game that often serves as a lever to continue advancing. Of course, once you take away all that "drama", that importance, you become unstoppable.

• Since there are no referees and the tension is high, are there times when balls are discussed? And how are they solved? Have you stolen any ball knowing it?

There is everything. There are those who can argue with you more about a ball or who gets somewhat aggressive. Personally, I tend to be very calm when this happens and 95% of the time we end up drawing 2 balls when there is a debate. It has ever crossed my mind to “steal” a ball when it has touched my shirt or I have stepped on the net, but in the end I have always told the truth. I'm really bad at lying anyway hahaha.

• What does it mean to pair up? because in painting everything will be easier.

Stability, commitment and team. When you play with a different partner, each tournament or almost each tournament is different than when you commit to playing with one person for a whole year. In the end, you don't see tournaments with a short-term goal, you always play thinking about what you can improve as a team and you are much more focused on what to do than on what you achieve. The reality is that, if you have someone fixed, with whom you understand and trust him, you should go to death, even if things don't go well at first.

• Do you feel pressure in tournaments when you start as the favorite pairing? And how are those emotions controlled?

Thinking that you are a favorite is a trap. Currently everyone plays an "egg" and the moment you think you are better than anyone or you generate performance expectations, it is very likely that you will end up suffering and play much worse. With much more pressure, of course. To control it, although it sounds like a cliché, you must go game by game. Furthermore, in each game you must focus on what you are going to do, on your strategy and not on the result or if you are better or worse. If you have fallen into the trap, then it is important to take advantage of the breaks to analyze the situation, break the rhythm and accept that you have made a mistake and that you have to come up with a game strategy to get the game ahead.

•  What does Side Spin transmit to you as a brand?

I feel the Side Spin team as part of my team, a great support that pushes me to achieve what I have proposed. The truth is that within the Side Spin family I feel important, I feel that what I do daily for them is relevant and I want to reciprocate by offering them the best of me and growing together within the paddle tennis.

• What would you highlight from your shovel ?

It is a padel racket that has good manageability, I feel it very comfortable when using effects. Above all, in the volley and in the trays. Being round it has a lot of control and also has an adequate ball output. PS: I love the design, even if it's irrelevant to the game hahaha.

• Is it the same racket that you play with, that the one that is sold to the public?

Yes, it doesn't make any difference. The only thing that I put some weights on top to raise the balance of the shovel.

• What advice would you give to a player who is starting and wants to get to where you are now?

That talent is important, but much more so is training and within that being constant, persevering and patient. The more aspects you take care of the sport (technical, physical, tactical, psychological) the more the chances of success increase and the importance of losing a million times to learn, learn and learn. In addition, being open to playing with many people, contacts are essential.

• When the results are not as expected, does the paddle exhaust you? What advice do you give for when a player gets mad?

It depends where you put the attention focus. If you focus only on winning or losing, the chances are that you will burn out in a short time if things do not go well. It is more important to focus on whether things are being done well, that is, if you are taking care of the pillars of the sport that I mentioned above. Even so, when things don't work out it's very frustrating, for me it's one of the worst feelings ever and it's annoying to keep motivated, but the most important thing is to keep going no matter what. Have a plan that is not affected by the results, so win or lose you have to keep working and be patient, constant and persevering.

• What would it be to enter the picture?

A dream, the greatest of reinforcements and a great boost for my sports career. Right now it is a goal that I see more in the long term than in the short term, but without a doubt, achieving it would be unique.

Thank you very much player for your time, from the Side Spin team we wish you all the luck in the tournaments and good health. See you on the slopes, #MYSIDEPARTNER