“Sometimes, losing everything is the only way to find yourself”. This could be the phrase that sums up the book, which is much more than an autobiography or a sports chronicle: It is an invitation to step into the life of a man who battled, again and again, the unexpected.
Last Sunday was the final match for Roland Garros, one of the most famous tennis tournaments worldwide. A nail-biting match which Carlos Alvarez won through talent and resilience against an equally talented rival, Jannik Sinner. This is why I wanted to introduce you to the book just published by Plaza & Janés: ‘An Unpredictable Rival’ by Carlos Cuadrado, who, from a very young age, became a great promise in the world of tennis.
He trained and competed alongside some of the biggest names in Spanish sport: Rafa Nadal, David Ferrer, Tommy Robredo, Feliciano López… His talent took him to the top when, in 2001, he became Junior Roland Garros champion, claiming the fastest and most overwhelming victory in the tournament’s history.
The future seemed set: he was going to be a global tennis star. But his body set a limit. Injuries forced him to retire early, just as his career was taking off.
‘An Unpredictable Rival’ begins at that breaking point. The young prodigy was left without a career, without purpose, and, above all, without an identity. The life he had known —early morning training, championships, relentless pressure— disappeared overnight. What followed wasn’t a straight path to recovery, but a tortuous, erratic, and deeply transformative journey.
Carlos decided to sell all his belongings and buy a sailboat, despite having little to no sailing experience. Setting off into the unknown was his way of moving forward. Through storms, flat seas, remote islands, and unusual encounters, Cuadrado began to rebuild his life far from the tennis court and close to the sea.
During his four-year journey around the world, he learned to face a new kind of rival: one that was unpredictable, wild, untamable—and often internal.
The book blends genres: it is part sports memoir, part adventure tale, but above all, a profoundly human story.
This story is filled with gripping scenes: solo sailing under star-filled skies, the tension of crossing piracy-risk zones, the forced solitude of weeks without human contact, the storms that threatened to swallow the boat and everything on it. And, of course, the moments of peace, beauty, and wonder that only a life outside the conventional can offer.
‘An Unpredictable Rival’ reminds us that sometimes, the best things happen when you dare face a rival you never expected.
‘An unpredictable rival’ by Carlos Cuadrado