DAZN, the global sports streaming platform, launches today ‘Unbeaten’, a new exclusive report that reviews the career of Carla Suarez, from the origin of his passion for tennis, the announcement of his retirement, the diagnosis of his illness shortly after and the return to the courts this Sunday May 30 at the start of Roland Garros, which can be followed on DAZN via Eurosport. The documentary features the participation of his family, coach, close friends, court mates and his partner, Olga García, a professional and international Spanish footballer.
‘Unbeaten’ goes back to Carla’s first contact with tennis, about which her mother, Loli Navarro, comments that it was a coincidence: “I did basketball two days a week and gymnastics two days. He didn't like gymnastics very much and those two days were free, so I had to put him in another activity ”. Her brother adds that: “As a child she played with everyone. It was funny to see a little girl playing with the big people and she was not intimidated, she played and played and wanted to play. At school I played with the girls one or two years older, because in their category there was no team ”.
The documentary also reveals the reasons why Carla Suárez left her homeland and that is, according to the tennis player: “That time of moving to Barcelona from Las Palmas was because I saw that in Gran Canaria it was no longer evolving as I was liking it and also because, whether you like it or not, you end up playing or training with the same people “.
Her former coach, Marc Casabó, also remembers her first meeting: “The first day she started working with us was June 1, 2007, she came from Las Palmas and we from Barcelona, we met one Saturday at one at noon in a club in Madrid ”. And, since then, he says that: “There has not been a single victory that has not lived like this, to feel it. Any victory, any step forward, I felt from the inside with great enthusiasm ”.
Regarding the tournament that Carla is most proud of, the tennis player is clear: “The greatest professional achievement is the tournament I won in Doha in 2016, which for the WTA circuit is a very important tournament.”
The most important challenge and a retreat through the big door
On August 28, 2020, Carla was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma, thus facing one of the greatest challenges of her life and undergoing a chemotherapy treatment that has been successfully completed. As she herself recounts, it has been a very difficult period, from which she got ahead thanks to her strength and the support of her people, who accompanied her at all times.
Suárez shares with DAZN how his illness began: “I began to realize what was happening to me in June or July 2020, I began my training in Barcelona, I had been during confinement in Gran Canaria and I was more tired than normal but I did not give it much importance because it only it happened in tennis training and not in everyday life. We knew something was happening, but we didn't give it importance because it only happened to me there ”.
Sara Mérida, her personal trainer, also remembers the beginning of that time: “We thought it could be due to nerves, in the end she was considering finishing this year and it could be the anxiety of seeing the end, but she told me 'it could be, but I'm of a certain age and I control that emotional aspect quite a bit and I don't think that's it. '
When they found out about the diagnosis, her partner, Olga García, remembered what went through her head at that moment: “I don't want to lose her, I don't want her to leave.” And he shares the pride he feels towards Carla: “She is an example for everyone, in this case, of overcoming”.
Big stars wanted to show their support for the tennis player through their social networks, such as Rafa Nadal, Marc Márquez, Simona Halep, Sergio Llull or Pau Gasol. Some other sports personalities even gave him encouragement in video format, such as the tennis player Petra kavitova or Serena Williams, who dedicated the following words to her: “Carla, it has always been a lot of fun playing against you, you were a sweetheart whenever we met in the locker room, I miss you!”
Resurfacing like the Phoenix, Suárez talks about his expectations and plans for his return to the track and subsequent retirement. “The objective now that I have returned to training is not to injure myself and to be able to go to play some tournaments during this year,” he explains. Olga also asks for something else for her retirement: “I would love to have an audience to say goodbye in the way she deserves” and acknowledges that she has a very close personal goal: “She wants to consider being a mother.”
Carla takes advantage of the documentary to send some words of encouragement to those who, unfortunately, have to fight this battle: “To a person who goes through something similar to mine, I would send, above all, a lot of strength, a lot of encouragement, to keep hope That he does not collapse, that situations like this come out if one is willing to fight. I think it is important to give visibility to this issue and for them to know that they can get out of a situation like this ”.
‘Imbatida’ is now available on the platform, where you can also find other special reports on tennis such as ‘Ashleigh Barty, Player of the Year', Who shares all the details of the Australian tennis player who has become number one in the world; 'Donna Vekić, slowly but surely', Which reviews the career of the Croatian athlete; or 'Sharápova and Wozniacki, the withdrawal of two stars', With the best moments of two of the best tennis players who, after having numerous victories behind them, said goodbye to the racket.