During a summer storm, I sought shelter in a shed just like a mentally retarded (sic) girl did. I wondered, then, if nothing could be done for her.
John Langdon Down
—————————————
–Sit down, sit down –I ask you.
Alexandra (23) and Dídac (32) extend their hands to me and sit and stare at me, waiting for my questions.
I expected them to be tense but they come relaxed, as if things were not theirs. In three quarters of an hour they must hit the court. They are ball kids, ball boys and parasol holders, in the final of the Godó Trophy, assistants to the players. They are the first ball kids with Down syndrome in the history of an ATP tournament.
They are pioneers!
We sat in the RCTB bridge room. I have a notebook, a pen and their gazes fixed on me.
I ask them how they got here and Alexandra corners me:
–By car!
And then he shrugs.
Touch!
(…)
When they came out on the court for the first time, Cristian Mestres, the speaker, mentioned their names and Dídac turned to the crowd and greeted them like Cristiano Ronaldo, putting his index fingers behind his back.
–Do you practice any sports? –I ask Alexandra.
–I have played tennis since I was little. I do it in Vall d’Hebron. And I also ski, play soccer, hockey, paddle tennis…
–One day we have to play paddle tennis together –Dídac interrupts: on Friday afternoons he gets on the bus, then transfers to Trambaix and then walks five minutes to Laietà. There, he paddles.
Alexandra tells me that she will not forget the experience, the possibility of getting closer to all the myths of tennis.
–Can you tell me something about the tennis players? –I ask him.
-Nooooooo.
–Can’t you talk about them?
-Nooooooo.
–But were they kind to you?
–Friendly, very much. And handsome, more so. Before the match, I told Nadal everything. I told him: ‘I love you!’
Alexandra is still in shock.
He does not forget that moment, in Nadal’s last match at Godó. The sun was shining. A game had ended and the Manacorí and De Minaur went to their benches. Alexandra deployed the umbrella and protected Nadal. The myth sat down, rummaged in his bag, took off his shirt and put on a clean one.
–He changed in front of me! –Alexandra shouts.
–And what did you feel?
– Freaked out.
–And weren’t you nervous down there, in front of so many people?
He says no, what’s wrong.
–And that everyone has seen us, the family, the people on TV…
“I was nervous,” says Dídac.
-Because?
–Because you have to do things well.
–But had they not prepared enough for this experience?
–Yes, of course, but the nerves are there.
Three weeks have passed training to be ball kids. They went to the RCTB in the afternoons, at 6 p.m., because in the mornings they were working.
(Alexandra is a secretary at Cushman
–Do you plan to return?
-Safe!
–And you, Alexandra?
– I don’t know, I don’t know.
–You will repeat with me! –Dídac tells him.
And she shrugs again.
(..)
–Will they repeat? –I ask Marc Visiedo. He is the head of ball kids at RCTB.
And the inspirer of the idea.
–At the end of the 2023 tournament, I thought about Javier Moreno, director of refereeing, who has a son with Down syndrome. I said to myself: ‘Why not?’ And I proposed to Anna Turull, director of the RCTB Foundation, the idea of ??incorporating someone like Moreno’s son. Turull spoke with Aura Fundació and here are Alexandra and Dídac, interacting with the rest of the ball kids (in total, there are 107 ball kids), eating with them, meeting and organizing.
–Will they repeat? –I repeat.
–The idea is that they go further. I hope they not only protect the tennis player from the sun, but also pass balls. And not only two ball kids, but five, or however many there may be.
And here the quote ends. The final begins.
Dance kids, on the court!
