With talent and success, but with difficulty finding support

At 14 years old, Pepe García Ruiz has established himself as one of the most promising players in Spanish tennis. A native of Alcalá de Guadaíra, he has held the national ranking of No. 2 in the U-14 category for the past year and recently won the European Championship with the Spanish national team at the Copa del Sol, one of the continent's most important youth competitions.

Despite the results, this young Sevillian's career is progressing within the limitations inherent in an environment that doesn't always foster high-performance development. Andalusia stands out as a region where large technical centers are scarce, hence its infrastructure is not comparable with other regions such as Catalonia, Madrid, or the Valencian Community. Therefore, the progress of promising young tennis players, like Pepe García, depends largely on family effort and individual commitment. Hence, his team has begun actively seeking sponsors and even professional representation to help him take the next steps.

The player's brother, Manuel García, has posted his sporting resume on LinkedIn, clearly outlining his goals: "We are looking for travel companions to help him make the leap to international competitions, in which he has so far only participated representing the Spanish national team," reads the text of a post that, due to its typology, is not typical on this social network. However, Pepe García's family is sparing no effort to ensure the young tennis player has financial and professional support that will allow him to compete consistently outside of Spain, expand his international calendar, and maintain a technical and physical preparation commensurate with his level.

Despite the aforementioned difficulties, the truth is that Pepe García is having a memorable 2025, full of successes, which places him as one of the names to keep an eye on for the future of tennis in Andalusia. Trained at the Oromana Tennis Club, his most notable achievements include titles at the Rafa Nadal Tour in Seville (where he defeated Jaime Alcaraz Garfia, Carlos Alcaraz's younger brother, in the final) and the U-14 Conde de Godó tournament , in addition to his participation with the national team in European tournaments. Likewise, in the aforementioned and recent Copa del Sol, the Alcalá-born tennis player was a key player in Spain's victory over Slovakia (6-3, 3-6, 6-0 over Andrej Adamovic), directly contributing to the conquest of the continental title (Stefan Shangichev, one of his teammates on the Spanish team, also defeated Slovak Max Lorincik in the final 6-3, 6-1). In addition, he was recently crowned singles and doubles champion of the 'Manuel Alonso Memorial' Spanish Children's Championship .

These results, however, contrast with the economic reality of a grassroots sports career. In this regard, it must be taken into account that tennis is a particularly expensive sport, requiring specialized coaches, individualized physical preparation, constant participation in tournaments, frequent travel, and high-level technical equipment. Furthermore, in Pepe García's case, as already mentioned, the difficulties are amplified by his place of origin. In Andalusia, with a few exceptions, there is neither the technical infrastructure nor the competitive structure necessary to prepare U-14 players like this one with international reach. Hence, the family has opted to take the initiative, seeking new avenues for financing and contact with professional organizations, something increasingly common in a sport where private sponsorship is crucial during the formative stages.

Thus, despite his position in the national rankings and the international results that support him, Pepe García's continued competitiveness and his progression toward professional tennis depend, to a large extent, as with many other promising young players in Andalusia, on the external support he obtains.