María Angélica Bernal Villalobos is ready to fulfill a dream. The Colombian tennis player will participate for the first time in the US Open, in the wheelchair modality, both in singles and doubles; in this last one she will compete with the American Dana Mathewson. Last details before traveling to New York.
Bernal, Colombia's number one racket and tenth in the world ranking, is one of the eight tennis players who will be present at the Grand Slam, that has not yet defined its table. Diede de Groot (Netherlands) Yui Kamiji (Japan), Aniek van Koot (Netherlands), Marjolein Buis (Netherlands), Jordanne Whiley (Great Britain) Momoko Ohtani (Japan) and Dana Mathewson (United States) will be their rivals.
The Colombian has played on the ITF circuit since 2007 and throughout his career he has 21 titles in the singles modality, four of them achieved in 2019. In addition, last year he obtained the gold medal in the Parapan American Games in Lima.
Angélica Bernal spoke with AS Colombia before your participation in the US Open, which will be played from September 10 to 13 at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York.
The beginning: “My disability is from birth and is called phocomelia, which is the lack of a limb, which in my case is the right leg. I have been using prosthetics since I was two years old. My father was an athlete so he taught me various sports. He played tennis, soccer, and skated. When I was 11 years old, I was invited to a wheelchair tennis clinic and a coach told me that I had good technique, although I did it standing up, and that if I did it in a wheelchair I could be a professional. I thought about it a lot, but an aunt who is a coach supported me, I really liked it and I have had good results “.
Top 10 in the world and 1 in Colombia: “It is a job that goes step by step, it is the way I am going for my great dream, which is to be number one in the world. Representing Colombia and being number one is a very great responsibility because I can be an example to many children and young people. Being in the top 10 is very important to me, I got there last year and it is the fruit of all the work I have done. “
Objective, to be number 1 in the world: “It's a long-term dream, I don't know in how long, but in a few years I can achieve it. The first thing was to reach number 10 to be able to play the Grand Slam and thus every year improve two or three positions. I have already played with all those that are above me in the ranking and with the good work that I have been doing, I will be able to achieve it “.
Challenge at the US Open: “Reaching the US Open is already a dream come true. Now I have to take advantage of that great opportunity that was opened to me. I am going to show the talent of the Colombian athlete and thus be able to improve my ranking. In the doubles category I see many options because I have already played with my partner and we've had good results. “
Doubles with Mathewson: “With Dana we understand each other very well, I really enjoy playing doubles with her. We are going to deliver our best from the first game, which we started in the semifinals.”
Singles Rivals: “They are quite strong. Number 1 and 2 are girls who have an incredible game and it has cost me the games against them. I have taken advantage of all this time training and I feel stronger to face them.”
Preparation at home: “The first days I started training under the routines that I had in the gym and seeing what I could do with what I had at home. Then I had a specialized routine from my physical trainer and my coaches accompanied me by video call. The return was not easy. to the fields, that's why I'm not in Bogotá. I came to Fusagasugá and I have a field that I only use with one of my coaches, complying with biosecurity protocols and training hard all day. “
Return of tennis after COVID-19: “We are all in the same conditions, it was a long stage in which we could not be on the court. We all arrived with the same conditions, but I feel with a very good pace and we have taken advantage of the time on the court.”
Good moment of Colombian tennis: “What has led us to this good moment is the strengthening of the sport and the support that has been improved by the institutions, in my case the IDRD. Now the athlete and his talent are much more trusted. The work is more serious and professional. “
Goals: “The goal is to begin to improve my ranking and be among the best eight in the world. I also think of the Paralympic Games in Tokyo to arrive as a seed, there are only eight seeds and my goal is to be among them.”