He was fourteen. He had a forehand that players five years older envied. By sixteen, he was gone.
Not injured. Not outclassed. Burned out. His parents measured his worth in trophies. His identity was his ranking number. And when that number dipped, he had nothing left to stand on.
That player changed everything for Paulo da Silva. Over thirty years coaching at the highest levels of junior tennis, he discovered a truth most programmes still ignore: technical perfection is not enough. It was never enough. The players who reach the top — and stay whole getting there — are never the ones with the biggest forehands. They are the ones with the broadest foundations.