Tennis is a sport that thrives on competition. The best players didn’t just hit thousands of balls in isolation—they honed their skills by testing themselves against strong opponents every single day. Being surrounded by elite competition naturally pushes players to adapt, improve, and raise their level. But what if that environment doesn’t exist? What if you’re a junior growing up in a place where high-level training partners are scarce, where the pathway to improvement isn’t clear, and where every trip to a tournament feels like stepping into another world?
I’ve worked on both ends of this spectrum. In Barcelona, I saw 10% of the world’s top 100 players training at the same facility at one point. Every session was a battle, every rally a test, and the competition was so relentless that simply showing up meant getting better. On the other hand, I’ve worked in places like Tucson, Arizona, where even getting the best juniors to train together is a challenge. That contrast gave me a firsthand look at how much environment shapes development—but it also taught me something else. While a strong competitive setting makes improvement easier, its absence doesn’t mean you can’t develop into a great player. It just means you have to work harder to create your own competitive landscape.
And this isn’t just theory. Carlos Moyá and Rafael Nadal both grew up on the island of Mallorca—far removed from the tennis hub of Barcelona, where Spanish tennis was booming. They didn’t have an endless supply of world-class sparring partners, but they made it work. They sought out challenges, traveled to compete, and most importantly, they had the mindset that wherever they trained, they would find ways to improve.
The Hidden Danger of Playing in a Bubble
One of the biggest risks of growing up in a low-competition environment is getting stuck in a comfort zone. When a player constantly wins in practice, they start to believe that their level is higher than it really is. Then, when they step into a more competitive setting—whether that’s a national tournament, an ITF event, or just a stronger training group—the gap becomes painfully obvious. Shots that worked at home don’t hold up. Opponents are faster, smarter, and more ruthless. Suddenly, doubt creeps in. Am I even good enough?
This cycle can be brutal. And what makes it worse is that many tennis communities—coaches, clubs, and even governing bodies—fail to create real pathways for young players to push themselves. Instead of encouraging them to seek stronger opponents, some coaches discourage it. They keep their players in a small, controlled environment, often out of fear—fear that players will leave, fear that their weaknesses will be exposed, fear of losing control.
But here’s the truth: If your coach is actively stopping you from training with stronger players, you need to ask why. And if their reasoning doesn’t make sense—if you’re not being challenged and growing—it might be time to find a different training situation. The best coaches want their players to be tested because they know that’s the fastest way to improve.
How to Find Competition When It’s Hard to Find
If you’re in a tough environment with limited access to strong players, waiting for competition to come to you is not an option. You have to actively seek it out.
Expand your network: Find players in nearby cities, connect with families who are equally serious about improvement, and set up match play days or training weekends. Even if it’s occasional, these experiences expose you to different playing styles and force you to adapt.
Prioritize quality over comfort: If you’re the best player in your training group, that’s a problem. Seek out older, stronger, or more experienced players—even if it means taking some tough losses in practice. If you’re always winning, you’re not improving.
Use tournaments as a training tool: Many juniors from smaller tennis communities treat tournaments as make-or-break events. Instead, use them as a test. Who beat you? Why? What were they able to do that you couldn’t? Tournaments expose weaknesses. Instead of getting discouraged, use that information to fine-tune your training.
Make practice matches count: If your training partners are limited, at least change how you practice. Add pressure situations, simulate match conditions, play for something. Don’t just trade groundstrokes mindlessly—play with intention.
No Excuses: The Best Find a Way
It’s easy to blame your environment for slow progress. And yes, growing up in a low-competition setting is a real challenge. But it’s not an excuse.
Carlos Moyá and Rafael Nadal didn’t have the luxury of training in a big city surrounded by elite players. Instead, they made the most of what they had and found ways to challenge themselves. There are plenty of players who have come from places without a deep player pool, yet they worked their way up by being intentional, creative, and relentless in finding competition.
If you want to succeed, you have to be willing to put in the extra effort. That might mean more travel, more discomfort, and more losses than you’d like. But that’s the cost of getting better.
You can’t always control where you’re born or who’s around you. But you can control your mindset, your effort, and how you respond to challenges. You can choose to stay in the bubble—or you can break out of it. The decision is yours.
