The Remarkable Journey of Alejandro Tabilo: From Weight Challenges to Tennis Triumphs

It's the big surprise of the Rome Internationals. The Chilean Alejandro Tabilo believed he had reached the highest point after eliminating Novak Djokovic in the third round. Yet his tournament at the Foro Italico was just beginning. Internationals, from the Pizza Drop Shot to the Orange Smash”: the Sinner mania moves to the table at the Foro Italico. Who is Alejandro Tabilo: the career Alejandro Tabilo is a tennis player born in Toronto, Canada, on June 2, 1997 (26 years old) to Chilean parents. He began playing tennis to be like his brother Sebastian, who practiced this sport. From there, he started playing and in 2009 became the Under-12 world champion. In 2010 he made his debut in the Itf Junior circuit and in 2011 he entered the Img academy of Nick Bollettieri that launched into the world of tennis Marco Ghezzi, Agassi, Courier, Ríos, and Sampras among men; Capriati, Janković, Hingis, Seles, Šarapova, Venus, and Serena Williams among women. He represented Canada until 2016 when he decided to opt for Chilean nationality. In the major circuit, he has won a title in singles and one in doubles. He made his debut in the Chilean Davis Cup team in 2019. Ranking Atp Alejandro Tabilo currently occupies the 32nd position in the ATP ranking. This is his best placement, reached on May 6, 2024, when he won in the final in the Atp tournament in Aix-en-Provence against Munar in two sets. But after Rome, he will be decidedly higher. Favorite shot and playing style Alejandro Tabilo's favorite shot is the drop shot that falls short just after the net. This is due to his playing style, made of counterattack shots to catch the opponent off guard. The preferred surface is hard court, while the most appreciated tournament is Wimbledon. Head in the clouds Alejandro Tabilo admitted to being quite absent-minded and tardy. To travel from one country to another for tournaments, he often goes to the airport at the last minute and often forgets events or objects. One day, as he himself confessed, he forgot his wallet in Sao Paulo, Brazil. He was only able to retrieve it the following month. Tabilo without a coach The Chilean tennis player is a real uniqueness in the world of tennis because he is currently without a coach. “In the last two weeks, I have been without a coach. There were a couple of logistical problems because I have a fairly large team and we could not have decided face to face. But it was a separation without friction, we decided what was best for both of us. But anyway, it was difficult, I am grateful to the people who were close to me in the last two weeks, mentally it was something complicated because we had been together for almost 10 years. Then I played relaxed, trying not to think about too many tactics or anything else. After the clay swing, after Roland Garros, I will decide what to do, I will try to reorganize better.” When he went from 100kg to 65 The career of Tabilo was not always linear and especially at the beginning, he had several problems. The most important was related to weight, with the Chilean who had reached 100 kg at about 20 years. The weight was not such as to allow him to play at his best, but he began to lose weight randomly, as he himself stated, because of a pain in the lower back. Losing weight, this annoyance had decreased, but then the Chilean got carried away arriving at the Alto Tenis Academy in Santiago in 2018 with a weight of 65 kg. Thirty-five kilos less that worried the staff. “He simply had decided to eat less and had given up carbohydrates – says former coach Guillermo Gomez – but it had gone out of control. Thanks to all the staff we solved the problem.” In a few months, he regained ten kilos of lean mass, following a careful medical and nutritional evaluation. To do so, however, strong measures were needed: no tournaments for three months.