Alicante’s Charo Esquiva, Spanish Champion for the Third Time at Just 16 | TodoAlicante

Alicante tennis player Charo Esquiva has been crowned Spanish champion for the third consecutive year. After winning the national titles in the children’s and cadet categories, this year she has claimed the under-18 title despite being only 16 years old.

Esquiva, who trains at CT Torrevieja, defeated Malaga’s Lorena Solar in the final with a double 6-2. “The Spanish Championships are always enjoyable, and I am very proud. It’s not about whether I play in junior or cadet categories, but about playing each match as if it were the last and giving everything in each point,” the Alicante native told the Spanish Tennis Federation.

Esquiva reached the top of the podium, conceding only one set in the semifinals against Asturian Eugenia Zozaya, whom she overcame 7-5 1-6 6-0. In the lower half of the draw, Lorena Solar, also runner-up last year, defeated Juliana Giaccio 6-1 6-3.

Quarterfinalists included Toledo’s Sofía Fernández Figueras, Lleida’s Meritxell Teixidó, Gran Canaria’s Gabriela Cynthia Paun, and Barcelona’s Ruth Roura, who was the second favorite.

Esquiva emerges significantly strengthened from this Under-18 Spanish Championship and now focuses on her next objectives: the US Open Junior and the European Cadet Championship, where she has high hopes and is expected to go far considering her experience.

The player from Bigastro continues to train on the courts of CT Torrevieja despite receiving increasing offers to move elsewhere. For now, her team and family prefer that she stays close to home, and the results validate their decision.

On another note, the men’s final between Valencian Andrés Santamarta and Xavier Palomar was one to remember, with an intensity that extended to nearly three hours of play. Santamarta ultimately claimed his second Spanish Champion title after winning the Alevín title in 2019 and being a Cadet finalist last year.

The individual champions of this Under-18 Spanish Championship have received a €1,500 scholarship redeemable for flights with Iberia, the official sponsor of RFET.

In doubles competition, the pair formed by Malaga’s Miguel Ángel Machado and Granada’s Pablo Pérez Navarro claimed the title by defeating Madrid’s Marcos Castro and Enrique Lana 6-1 6-3. The doubles victory went to Lorena Solar and Eugenia Zozaya after defeating Zaragoza’s Celia Anson and Balearic Marina Gatell with a double 6-1.