Blanch, 16, looks ahead to Nadal clash: 'Enjoy every moment'

Mike Lawrence/ATP Tour

Born in Boca Raton, Florida and now living in Spain (via Thailand, Argentina, and a second stint in the United States), Darwin Blanch has covered a fair bit of ground in his young life.

On Thursday, the #NextGenATP American’s travels will take him somewhere he may not have dreamt when he first started hitting a tennis ball with his brothers in their backyard: to a first-round meeting with ATP Tour legend and home favourite Rafael Nadal at the Mutua Madrid Open.

“I'm really excited, obviously a little bit nervous,” the 16-year-old Blanch told ATPTour.com on Tuesday in the Spanish capital. “But I'm just really happy to be playing against Rafa. I'm ready to go out and just enjoy every moment.”

It will be the second ATP Masters 1000 appearance in the space of five weeks for lefty Blanch, who made his tour-level debut on home soil as a wild card against Tomas Machac at March’s Miami Open presented by Itau. While the American will this time not enjoy home support as he steps onto the big stage, he is ready to test himself against a sporting icon.

“I know there's going to be a lot of people and they're going to be against me,” said Blanch of his maiden Lexus ATP Head2Head clash with Nadal. “Obviously, Miami helped me [get used to the big stage] a bit, but it's always been a thing that I've liked playing with a crowd and I've always enjoyed that.”

Blanch has already lived in four countries. The teenager, who stands at 190 cm tall, can speak just as many languages: English, Spanish, Chinese and Thai.

“I was born in Boca, but when I was one week old, I moved to Thailand for my dad's work,” explained Blanch. “So I trained there until I was eight years old, with a tennis court in my backyard. I would practise there with my brothers.

“We brought a coach from Argentina, and then eventually I moved to Argentina. I trained there for four years, and then I went to the USTA [in Orlando], and then eventually now to Ferrero [Tennis Academy in Alicante]. So, it's been a wild journey.”

Now coached by Francisco Penalva, Blanch has surprised even himself by the speed of his improvement in recent years. He finished 2023 ranked as the ninth-best junior in the world and is currently part of the ATP’s Next Gen Accelerator Programme.

“We started seeing my level once I got to the USTA in Orlando,” he recalled. “I started doing really, really well, the best in my tennis career. Now at [the Ferrero academy], they've helped me a lot. I've progressively gotten better and it’s surprising to see how much I've gotten better recently.”

Carlos Alcaraz concurs with Blanch’s self-assessment. The No. 3 in the PIF ATP Rankings has been impressed while hitting with the teenager in Alicante and believes taking on the 92-time tour-level titlist Nadal in Madrid will only help his development.

 

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“I’ve practised with him a few times in the academy,” said Alcaraz, who himself faced Nadal for the first time on his 18th birthday in Madrid. “I know that he has good tennis. He plays very well for his age. I told him just to enjoy the moment [against Nadal].

“This moment is going to be really helpful to his career. It was really important to mine, when I faced [Nadal] in 2021 for the first time. I learned a lot from that match and living that experience was really helpful. Just to try and enjoy the moment and give himself the opportunity to enjoy and get experience.”

Blanch, who enjoys playing video games and listening to music (“anything but rock music”) in his spare time, has always idolised World No. 1 Novak Djokovic. He grew up with three tennis role models closer to home, however: his brothers Ulises Blanch and Dali Blanch, as well as his sister Krystal Blanch, all three of whom are tennis players.

“Both of my older brothers, they've passed a lot of experience to me that they've been through,” said Blanch, when asked what Ulises and Dali had taught him about breaking into the men’s game. “It's obviously helped a lot. It's helped a lot as a younger brother. So, I try to take everything they tell me and try to fit it into myself.”