2024-04-18 22:44:19
Emmanuel was just eight years old when he started his tennis career. Despite his young age, he considers that he started “late”, because these days children “start at three or four years old”. The teacher notices this in his classes at the Tennis Spora club, next to the children’s playground in the Bambësch forest, in the Muhlenbach neighborhood, in the capital. “Now there are many activities for the little ones. It’s more fun, so they can start earlier.” The Portuguese descendant teaches children aged three to 12, but also adults. He left his playing career to dedicate himself fully to his life as a coach.
His passion for tennis came about because of his younger brother, who had started playing a year earlier. In the summer, their parents sent them to a summer camp at the club in Steinfort, the town where they still live. “I liked. I started to play well, I had qualities, so I continued”, he recalls, confessing that his brother played better. “It was very good. At the age of 14 he was already one of the best in Luxembourg and played in international competitions, in Germany and France”. The prodigy ended up not pursuing a professional career, because “in Luxembourg, sport is not very supported”, explains Emmanuel, and decided to pursue his studies after the pandemic.
The older brother was also among the top five nationally and competed abroad, but never tried to play as a professional. “I didn’t have the level. He played well in Luxembourg, but not in international competitions”. He started teaching at the age of 15, at the Steinfort club. After Covid, at 18, he moved to Muhlenbach and started teaching on Saturday mornings and when it was necessary to replace his colleague. In the first year, he still competed, but then he stopped, because “it was too intense for the body to train and teach”. Now he only plays occasionally, with his girlfriend and brother, who also train at the club.
The most important thing is to see the kids with a smile, convey the passion for tennis and see the child’s evolution as a person and player.
Emmanuel Araújo
Tennis teacher
In Emmanuel’s eyes, Tennis Spora is one of the biggest clubs in Luxembourg, if not the biggest. He arrived in the summer of 2021 and is already in his third year as coach, although he has only had a professional contract since September last year. Teaching “is fun”, he says, because he has the opportunity to deal with many people, from three-year-old children to 60-year-old adults. “There is also the competition part, the training part and every day is different. We always have to adapt to a new personality, we learn a lot about people and become more open-minded”, reflects the 20-year-old teacher.
At 20 years old, Emmanuel dreams of one day coaching a professional tennis player. © Credits: Chris Karaba
The working day starts between 2pm and 4pm and can end at 10pm, with adult classes. All trainers are part-time, with a 20-hour contract, plus the part they manage individually, such as private courses. Classes are divided between competition, training, tennis school, where “kids come more to play with their friends”, and the adult part. Emmanuel does a little bit of everything, but prefers to work with children. On Saturday mornings they also have mini tennis, for children aged three to six, and now exchanges have begun with games between clubs on weekends, until July.
The approach with the youngest varies depending on each one’s personality, notes the coach. “It’s always a function of the person we have in front of us. We can feel if the person really likes tennis, if they want to compete and it also depends on the quality of the kids”. Emmanuel recognizes that there are children who have more skills than others and who are oriented towards competition from the age of five. “Others go more to enjoy and the objective is for them to continue playing. The most important thing is to see the kids with a smile, convey the passion for tennis and see the child’s evolution as a person and player”.
I hope that one day I can have the opportunity to coach a professional player, but for that I need more experience. It’s my goal.
Emmanuel Araújo
Tennis teacher
After all, coaches also leave a mark on these children’s lives. Some spend a large part of their lives at the club, says Emmanuel. “We are second parents. It’s like they are our children and we have to educate them in sport and in life. There is a long way to go until the day they leave.” There are also those who stay and become promising young tennis players, like Olaf Zielinski, who “is one of the best young European players”, guarantees the professor. “In January, he ended up in the best 70 in Europe. And we have Marie Weckerle, a girl from Luxembourg who has always played for this club. She is now world number 700”.
The Portuguese of the capital. Rui Manuel, the boss of Primavera supermarkets
In adults, at professional level, there are also top athletes such as Raphael Calzi, who is number 600 in men’s doubles, and Marlon Vankan, player on the first team and number 570 in the world. A fan of elite tennis, Emmanuel also has some references such as Jannik Sinner, current world number 2, and the Portuguese João Sousa, who ended his career earlier this month, at the Estoril Open. In terms of coaches, the idols are Riccardo Piatti, Toni Nadal and Nick Bollettieri, who passed away in 2022. “They all managed to be at the top, they are an inspiration”, says the Portuguese descendant.
Lusodescendente stopped competing to dedicate himself to his coaching career. © Credits: Chris Karaba
Emmanuel’s dream is to train a professional tennis athlete. “I hope that one day I can have the opportunity to coach a professional player, but for that I need more experience. That’s my goal.” He has had some happy moments as a teacher and when one of his children wins a game or a tournament it is always “a source of pride”. But there are also challenges, he admits. “The hardest thing is managing emotions when a child loses a game. It’s difficult to see a player who slowly loses his passion, but it’s part of the job.”
The coach notices that there are young people who are better in games than in training, because of the adrenaline, while others play well in training but then block in the competition. “They learn with time and maturity. I like to tell them it’s just a tennis game. They are here to enjoy and have pleasure playing. To win and play well, you need to enjoy it. Otherwise, we cannot have a performance to the best of our abilities.” Sometimes you also need to disconnect from tennis and Emmanuel takes advantage of his holidays to forget about the rackets and spend time with family and friends, playing football or paddle tennis.
The Portuguese of the capital. Rodrigo, the football and picanha man in a café in Hamm
Emmanuel was born in Luxembourg, the son of Portuguese emigrants. His mother is from Póvoa de Lanhoso, district of Braga, and came to the Grand Duchy at the age of 14 to work as a cleaner and ‘babysitter‘. His father was born in France, “because my great-grandparents had already emigrated and my grandparents were born there”. He still goes to Portugal every year with his parents and his 16-year-old brother. “We have family in several European countries and every year we get together in Póvoa de Lanhoso”. One day I would like to live there, although I don’t know when, because the tennis profession can bring opportunities in several countries. “But training in Portugal is a dream.”
2024-04-18 22:44:19