Venezolana jugó el Mundial 2026 con España 🇪🇸🎾 | Raquel Amaro cuenta TODO

0:00Presidents, we are here with Raquel Amaro. Raquel Amaro played with me on the Venezuela team at the 2025 World Championships. She also played for Venezuela in the Fed Cup and won many tournaments as a tennis player, both junior and university, and this year she played for Spain at the World Championships in Vietnam. And here Raquel is going to tell us about her experience in Vietnam and the difference between this

0:29World Cup and the last one. How are you, Raquel? How are you? Very good. And you? No, thank you so much for inviting me, and well, I'm happy to be able to share my experience. Hey, tell me where you are right now. I am in Madrid, in Madrid, Spain. I moved. I used to live in the United States and well, I came here. So , tell me, there are many people who might not understand how

0:55a Venezuelan played for Spain in the World Cup, I mean, how does that work? Okay . First, you have to have Spanish nationality. I got it from my grandparents. Uh, and then you have to play in the National Tour where the selector and the federation see you, and you have to do well, and from there they start pre-selecting you for the world championship, and if you make it, you go

1:25. And what tournaments did you win that would have made you perform well for the pre-selection? Well, I did several, third place in doubles, and then I won several national titles in singles, I mean, I won more than anything. So yes, tell us how, I mean, how you get pre-selected. Now take us to the World Cup in Verdan, what did you think? And compare it to the one in Florida. Okay, I mean, super impressive. I've never

1:58been to Asia, but the pickleball culture is huge, huge. Just to start, we arrived at the airport and since we were carrying the pickleball equipment , they saw us and oh pickleball and took us to another line where there was no one for immigration, to get us through quickly, like, as if we were super famous, like , yeah, yeah, yeah. And everyone plays PB there, because at immigration I asked the guy who was making my

2:27passport, "Oh, do you know PB?" Yes, I play. That impressed me. Uh, and then you see tracks, but mostly private clubs everywhere, I mean, more than in the United States . That left me, wow, I was like, I was speechless. But places that you think of as, like, ah, places where there are, I don't know, other sports or it looks like outdoor. No, no, no, no. I mean, it's like telling you, you're on a street of

2:57shops or whatever, on a road and suddenly there's a place there that doesn't even look like a place for football and inside it's like a warehouse where the courts are. Ah, it's terribly hot, and very humid. So it has fans everywhere . One thing that's a bit of a bummer because the fan moves your balls around, but that impressed me. I mean, in two places I've seen, and very different from the United States

3:28. Did you know that there are public basketball courts in the United States? Everything is private here. I don't know the cost of the courts compared to the United States, to private places, but they were always full, they were packed and you'd leave and another group would arrive to play. Excellent. Tell me about the courts, because that's something I heard quite a bit from other people. There were seven pavilions, seven places where there were courts.

3:59There were two that I went to, where the courts were of this American style, which are courts made like a tennis green set floor with the nets on, uh, 10 out of 10, I mean, brutal, brutal, I mean, with space, I mean, the ball bounced well, good, but in the central pavilion where the pros played, terrible, terrible, terrible. I mean, something where you had to do the split 10 times between the ball bouncing and

4:32where you were going to move. You know those balls we used to have in tennis that had like several spikes that you'd throw and they'd bounce all over the place? Uh-huh . Uh-huh. Yes. Like that. In other words, it was something that could either stay put, forcing you to bend down and touch the floor with your knees, or it would move to another side and you would have to run. I mean, that was something

4:56was difficult to play, but well, it was for both of us, obviously. I mean, it was for both your side and the other, I mean, it could be from whichever side it was, but that's something that left a bad taste in my mouth, because since it was the World Cup and it was the central pavilion, mm, on the other hand, another thing that bothered me was that they were playing, I think there

5:20were seven courts at the same time and the central one, the only one that had a microphone that could be heard was the central one, the referee. The rest was the referee yelling the score at you, which you couldn't hear. I mean, I actually lost a point for not listening to the score, I mean, it was individual. The referee announced the score, I didn't hear it. I stopped before the player took the serve, I approached the

5:44referee and he said to me, "You lost the point because I had already called the score and I told him, I can't hear you, I don't know how it works ." And he tells me, "I already sang it." And I said, "Okay, but I can't hear anything. Tell me how much it's going to be." And well, I mean, that's another problem they had, and that since it was like an Olympic stadium, a

6:02basketball stadium, or something like that. In other words, it was also closed when Vietnam played; there were so many fans and so much noise that it was impossible to hear. That's something I also criticize him for because in the United States, at the World Cup, it was something that was cool, that it was outdoors, that the central field had its own stadium, I mean, that's something I would change. Okay. Did you hear anything about where

6:32the next World Cup will be held? No, but I think, I mean, I, Raquel Amaro, no, nothing is known. I think it's going to be in Australia. Yes. I know you said Barcelona or Spain. Uh-huh But I think it's going to be Australia because Australia has a strong peball. Besides, the PPA and the PP are already there. In other words, they already have a kind of Peball culture. There will be much less

7:06Latin American representation there because it will be just as expensive. She is already expensive, and being there makes her expensive. I think it's even more expensive or less. Have you been, have you been to Australia? No, never, never, never. But I would like to Yes, me too. Me too. Whenever you can. So, you're there at the World Championships only in the women's doubles because I didn't make it to the others, I mean, it was too early,

7:34and I work. That's what happens to us in Spain, or to Europeans as a whole: we can't live off pickup ball, we have to work. So I went out and arrived and the next day with Jetl and everything I played in the international tournament which I liked, the organization was good, but what I complain about is that of course, you had referees, but the referees were volunteers, who didn't even speak English, I mean, they had the

8:04numbers memorized and then to tell you if you were serving or receiving it was with a piece of paper that told you in English to do it this way or not. That's something that would change: having real referees who speak English, I mean, because they had volunteers from all over. Ah, wow. So, when you arrive in Vietnam, you say, "Wow, yeah, did I prefer to be in For Lordel or do I like this Vietnam experience?"

8:39Which one would you choose? That first experience, without us reaching the end of the event? Phew!

8:52The thing is, living through both experiences is very different. It's really cool, it really is. It's very different. I mean, I think I was used to the one in the United States, because I lived there, I played there, the United States did very well, but the experience of the fanaticism in Asia is also brutal, having lived through both World Cups, it's truly something inexplicable and I'm very grateful, but if I had to choose one

9:24, I would have chosen the United States. Clear. And do you think the Venezuelan fans would have been so, so noisy in Vietnam? I mean, I don't know if Venezuela had played against Vietnam in this World Cup in Vietnam, we would have made any noise or anything, forget it, forget it, forget it, forget it. I mean, they even had drums, drums, I mean, everything. And what were they? Were they paid

9:54or were they people who were actually there? Because they are fans of Péball. fans of the same because there were children too, that is, young people that you see playing. Yes, yes, yes. No, that's just fanaticism over there So, what was it like seeing the players on the app? So, was it intimidating or was it subtle? Well, yes, right? Look, I saw them at the English Open before, I mean, in

10:24July when I went to play because it was a PP and, well, you can see the level, you can see that the United States is above us. Now the one that impressed me was India, who scored two points against the United States. I thought Vietnam was going to do more, but the United States was the one that made the pick, so they're ahead. Women are very strong. Women are very strong. Yes,

10:52especially Cat, because, I mean, you get the individual one and you just can't miss it. Yes, yes, yes. It's played very well. Yes. Oh, so you're in Vietnam. How did it feel to represent Spain instead of Venezuela? Did it feel strange or? I mean, because you grew up as Spanish, I mean, with a lot of Spanish culture in Venezuela, but did it feel strange or was it normal? It was different because for me it wasn't

11:21the first time I represented Spain, I mean, I represented Spain in tennis before, but not in a team competition, and it was like returning that affection from my grandparents. It was like representing my grandparents and everything they've given us , but I really liked it, I really liked it because I always had my grandparents in mind and it was like, "Well, this point is for you." Excellent, excellent. And now you're going to the

11:49World Cup, tell me how Spain did, right? How many games did you play? What did you think? How did you handle the pitches and the pressure of playing for Spain? Okay, first you know you start with the group stage, we got a pretty easy group, we got Belize, Aruba and then South Africa, which was the strongest, but we won all the games, 60-60. Uh-huh. Uh, I played mostly individual matches, I played

12:20all the matches and I liked playing in the group stage because with a little less pressure because you adapt and I liked it, I liked it too. It was because those were matches where you could practice new things and see what the level was like in other countries. Uh, then we went the next day to play the round of 32 against Colombia. impressed me. He's playing quite well, he has a good team.

12:55How much? They had quite a crowd, I mean, I was impressed that Colombia brought a lot of people, wasn't I? They had a good bar and played well. They played well. You could see they were coming from, I think, ping pong, I mean, you know you can always see where the players are coming from. Yes. And they had good hands, you know. But hey , we won 4-0. I didn't get to play there

13:15because you know that once you're up 4-0 you clinch and keep going. And then we went to Hong Kong, China. Ah, and that's it. I had that experience last year and it seems that they were very strong and very organized when they play, I mean, they don't invent, they know, it's like chess, they know that if you play here, you play there, if it's this, then it goes here.

13:39They are very organized people and mentally they are always like that, that is, they don't break out. And well, it was my turn, there were 31 of us, I had to enter the single, I was close, but well, it fell in another direction. It hurt, it hurt a lot because you're the last point and it's like, well, ah, if you win, the man goes, but if you lose, ah, he's lost. And well,

14:04uh, but impressive, I mean, I feel that we are not that far from them, we are close, we can, I mean, all the matches were close together, but no, it didn't happen for us. And well, they came in third place last year and second place last year, so it wasn't like you'd say, "Well, we lost to a country that didn't make it or this or that ." But something I would change about the World Cup,

14:32if you didn't ask, but something I would change about the World Cup would be to be like they do in tennis or like they do in football, where you don't just sign up and they go to the country, right? You have to do either a South American, a Central American, or a European tournament and then pick the best ones because I don't know if you remember, last year it was too much to

14:51play on the first day, I mean, the three matches tire you out because you play all six points unless you go to a Dream Breaker tournament where you play seven and then you have to go against the other one, I mean, it's three matches that you play one after the other, which is quite a lot . So during the year before, I would have a training camp with other countries before the

15:16World Cup, because there are some very good countries that can be there, and you can end up anywhere, and there are countries that register and go. So, sure, it's great to give everyone a chance to play, but it's also very tough for the people who are there. That is, 64 countries. I had a similar idea a year ago when we had a conversation with Angel and David, that it would be ideal to have

15:47a South American, a Central American, and then a European and a World Championship every two years because I think that would also give more time to the organizations of countries that are not as developed as the United States or Spain, which is managed by the Tennis Federation, which helps. Yes. Uh, more time for them to raise funds, get organized, uh, but it's also a business for the World Cup, it's a business. So,

16:18the more teams that sign up, the better, right? So, that part works. Yes. I mean, what I do know is that here in Europe Europeans do it, but it's to see who earns the most. It's not like that many qualify to go to the World Cup. It also exists in the South American tournament. Exact. It's good that it ends up being every 4 years, but doing it every two is also very good. Yes, let

16:44the same people run it. The World Cup, so, now at the end, which one did you like the most? The one from For Lordel. So, how long were you in Vietnam? You were here for a week, you arrived and you left as soon as the World Cup was over. Yes, we were there for a week, uh, I mean, we left on Sunday, arrived on Monday and returned the following Monday, arriving on Tuesday. And,

17:13I mean, it was pure competition from now on, it's not like, since we lost we were able to see a little bit of the city, but rather, you're always there and that's how it should be, you're fully focused on that. Yes, I would have liked it. Well, other players from Spain arrived earlier so they could acclimatize better and play internationally. I would have done it . Yes, I think I'll have

17:36the opportunity to go again next year . I stayed with the first group that went so I could acclimatize better, try out the courts, and get more experience because you're playing with people you've never played with before. I mean, for example, I played internationally against two Japanese players who come from badminton, so it 's impossible to win a point with two smashes because they reset and you think, "How many more times do I have to

18:01hit it?" I mean, and they prescribe it calmly because at the end of the day I come from tennis and I have tennis anxiety and those people are like one, two, three, I was saying, "Okay, please, just fail it already." So it's cool that you can learn from others, I mean, from other sports. Already. So, which one did you like more? Vietnam or For Lo? Ah, right, right, right. I think it's just different, but if you

18:30have to pick, let's see, Vietnam, because it's true that they improved it, that the courts were different and all that, but the fanaticism and all that , Vietnam, now there's nothing like the heat of the United States and having as much support as we had in Venezuela. Sure, sure. I also believe it because it went very far. In other words, the Spaniards who were cheering us on were the relatives of the over-50s.

18:59But yes, I would like to see a World Cup in Europe. Yes. Okay. Hey, you did some sightseeing in Vietnam, like you went out to eat, and the food is so cheap. I do n't know, I don't know how it compares to Spain, but I know it was much cheaper than the United States. Yes, yes, yes. I mean, one thing it does is we think we won't go hungry because, like, I'm telling you, we'd buy

19:28a dish, an appetizer and something to drink for 4 or 5 euros, we'd say, but we'd still be hungry because the normal thing here in Spain is to pay 15 euros for a dish, I mean, in case you're going to eat out and stuff. And then I don't know if David told you, but everywhere they were doing a kind of weird foot massage . Yes, [laughs] they were really good and you paid.

19:50€2.30 for a 30-minute foot massage . I mean, it was something we did every day, like team bonding, you know? It was brutal, and well, I arrived relaxed the next day. Oh yes, a massage here costs 50, right? Yes, forget it, forget it. Just like here, I mean, a back massage and whatever, costs €75 or €100, while there a full massage cost us €15. And what about the city? Is sightseeing

20:22difficult because you're so involved in the tournament? Or how close or far was the pavilion from the city itself? The pavilion is like the city of Danan, 15 minutes away. I mean, it's very, very close. I really liked that, but to go sightseeing you did have to travel for an hour or two, which is great. It's clear that Vietnam, among many other things, lives off tourism, and the service is very good; they really treat

20:52tourists very well, they're always smiling, they're very friendly, but yes, tourism is their livelihood. So, everything is very well organized for the people. To wrap things up , how are you preparing for the PPA Europe? Are you going to be playing in all the tournaments? Uh, what are the things you have to do to comply with the I imagine you signed? Yes, I signed, I signed. Yes, I had the

21:23opportunity to go to the MLP, for them to see me play, and I signed, and well, for me right now that's like my first option to play the PPA, but well, I'm always open to other things, so well , this week on Friday, that Friday I start the first PPA already signed because I already played one in Puerto Toros, which was the first one they did in Europe, but well, this is

21:50like the first one that is serious now. And do you have to play all the tournaments or do you only have to [clears throat] or the ones you choose. No, no, we don't have a minimum or a maximum. Well, they know that we don't live off this yet and that we have jobs and that there are things that will sometimes be difficult for us to attend, but they are very open and we

22:15appreciate that. I mean, they've really treated me super well, I'm very happy with them and well, let's see, I'd like to do the whole tour, I really would. Which ones do you have in mind, Gir? Well, they've only announced the next five. They just announced Barcelona, ​​then it's going to be Portugal, Germany, Italy, and then Spain again, but they plan to hold 20 tournaments. What is it like to travel in Europe? It is much

22:48cheaper than the United States. It's easy, like, you travel by train and take everything by train and that's it, you travel by plane. How is? What's everything like? Sure, I mean, it's much easier too because the United States is all so far away, I mean, if you go by car in the same state it takes up to 8 hours from one end to the other. Depending on whether it's in Spain, I

23:14like to go by car so I can get around easily because the maximum I'm going to drive is 6 hours. Well, if not, for example, I'm going to Barcelona right now, which is 3 hours away by train and I can take all the luggage I want, so I don't have any problem with that. Uh, but at another time I've gone by car, which is six. Uh, but for example, to go to Germany, if

23:35the flights are really cheap, I mean, they're cheaper than a Liant or a... Well, Spirit doesn't exist anymore, but anyway, Spirit... I mean, for example, Germany for €20 one way and €20 return, then it's really worth it if you book in advance and organize yourself well, I mean, it's really worth it. You can also go by train, because there are long distances that are fast. Mm. And you're going to Germany, but only to the ones in

24:04Spain. No, I'm not going to play everything. That's the idea. Yes. How much do you think you're going to spend? Do you have a budget? The thing is, I have a sponsor who pays for it. He pays for my flights, transport, meals and everything, but more or less between one thing and another, I think you can spend between € 300 and €500 per tournament. How much money do you think you spent for last year's World Cup?

24:42I think it's easy 1000 and and and with and with the qualifier, well, like it was two days and so 500, 600 and you did n't. I couldn't do that every weekend, that's what I know. No, a professional player spends less than 000 per weekend and plays 20 tournaments a year, right? And leaving aside the registration fees, because the registration fees are how many I know, I imagine that when you

25:18signed you don't go through registration fees, but how much, how much, how much is the registration fee for those who are not signed? I think they initially did a presale, and I think it was €90-100 for the three pro categories, but then I think it reached €200 for all three or for each one. Three times as many, but you also have to keep in mind that in Spain you don't earn

25:46the same as in the United States. Yes, it's true that there are many brands that help players, but there are still many people who don't. But it's expensive, I mean, I feel like tennis is like a sport, at the end of the day it's a sport of shouting, what the racket costs, what the shoes cost, what it costs to travel, I mean, you're a solo sport, it's not like soccer or

26:11volleyball or basketball where you're part of a team and you travel with the team. Mm. Yes of course. At first, PB was like a community sport and all that, but if you want to play it professionally, it 's expensive. Yes, but anyway, Raquel, would you like to say something to wrap things up? Say hi to someone or thank your sponsors, uh, and how can we follow you on social media?

26:48Yes, no, thank you very much to everyone who comes from the PB house, especially to those who support us, both you, Carlos, and me, and obviously to my sponsors who help me to keep playing, uh, Asmas and Yola, and Raquel Amaro V on Instagram. Presidents, thank you for joining us, subscribe to the channel and we'll see you in the next conversation. Bye!