At the sweetest moment of his career, Camilo Ugo Carabelli looks back and has no regrets about the sacrifices he made to reach the top in tennis, though he admits he went through dark times of sadness and confusion.
“I spent several years seeing the psychologist,” the Argentine said in an interview with CLAY.
The 25-year-old earned the right to play a match many dream of. This Sunday, the current world No. 62 will face Novak Djokovic in the third round of the Miami Open. Ugo Carabelli arrived in the United States after a strong start to the season, reaching the semifinals at the ATP 500 in Rio de Janeiro and the ATP 250 in Santiago, as well as winning the Challenger title in Rosario, Argentina.
“This is what I dreamed of all my life,” he confessed in an interview where he opened up about the tough teenage years. Immature at the time, he couldn’t understand why he couldn’t be a normal kid, going to school regularly and spending all his time with his childhood friends.
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Interview with Camilo Ugo Carabelli– Afronta una nueva etapa en su carrera, con un ranking que le permitirá jugar prácticamente en todos los torneos del Tour. ¿Cómo se siente dar ese paso que esperó dar toda su vida?
– Estoy re contento. En Río de Janeiro di ese paso y hacer semifinales y sumar tantos puntos siendo Lucky Loser era lo último que esperaba hacer, después de haber perdido en la qualy. Cambia para bien toda la planificación. Pensaba jugar las qualies de los Grand Slams y ahora entraré a todos directo.
Qué día increíble!
Nos vemos mañana!❤️💪
3ra🔜 @MiamiOpen
📷 : @sbermatov pic.twitter.com/KxXXn7DzfA— Camilo Ugo carabelli (@camilougo) March 22, 2025
– Será un año de muchas primeras veces.
– Es una cosa increíble. Uno está un poco nervioso en las primeas veces. No sabes con qué te vas a encontrar, cómo son los torneos, qué condiciones hay. Son un montón de cosas nuevas, las tomo como un premio al esfuerzo. Esto lo que soñé toda la vida, estar aquí arriba, con los mejores del circuito. Hay que vivirlo y será único.
– ¿Ya se encontró con alguna estrella del circuito con la que tenga una historia para contar?
– Es que yo soy bastante cerrado. Hablo poco con otros chicos del circuito. Entrené con Sinner varias veces. Con él me llevo bastante bien.
– A propósito de Sinner, Feliciano López criticó recientemente a los tenistas por la poca empatía que han mostrado hacia el italiano durante su caso de dopaje y posterior suspensión. ¿Cómo lo ve usted? ¿Apoya a Sinner?
– No tengo ni idea, no me interesa tampoco. No se sabe tampoco bien lo que pasó. Quizás solo ellos lo saben. He visto que un montón de tenistas lo salieron a matar ahí a Sinner. Sobre todo Kyrgios. Ha estado muy metido en el tema y se le ve bastante enojado.
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– Time goes by, and more players on tour have tattooed bodies like you. It seems you have a fascination with tattoos.
– I started by tattooing the names of my parents and my brother. I’m very close to my brother, who is a little older than me. I also have one I got with my best friend. After that, I just got tattoos because I liked the designs. I’d love to say they have deep meanings, but most of them don’t. I even regret a couple, like this butterfly on my forearm. It’s too visible—I would have placed it somewhere else. The one that does have meaning is my team’s crest (San Lorenzo). My brother passed that culture on to me since he played football all his life. The younger brother always wants to be like the older one. I wanted to copy everything he did, and one of those things was tattoos.
– Is it true that you got your first tattoo at 14?
– Yes, when I was 14. It was actually my brother’s name.
– Without your parents knowing?
– No! Nooo, my dad fully supported it. And I needed my mom’s signature to get it done. She signed without any problem but said, “You’ll do it at the studio I choose.” So she picked the place for me.
– You’re a very emotional person and have gone through tough times in your youth. How did you feel?
– Yeah, I really struggled because I was immature and didn’t fully understand some aspects of a tennis career, like everything I was missing out on since my teenage years. For example, I loved going to school and didn’t understand why my parents took me out to train or travel. As a kid, I would ask myself if all the effort would really be worth it. I didn’t want to miss things I would never get back. That made me really sad, even anguished.
– I should ask you how you see that difficult stage now that you are at the sweetest moment of your career.
– I have no regrets. I went through tough times, but I would sacrifice that other life a thousand times over.
– And how did you overcome that teenage struggle?
– I spent several years seeing a psychologist. I still work with the same one. Two years ago, I also started working with a mental coach, which has helped me a lot. Obviously, good results, maybe having a bit of money, becoming independent, and being able to do things that kids my age in Argentina can’t do, made me happier. Things started falling into place little by little, and luckily, I am where I am today.
– Your mother has been a great support, not just for your career but for South American tennis in general. She has always welcomed players from other provinces in Argentina and other countries in the region. Your house was like a hostel for tennis players in Buenos Aires.
– Yes, it’s a nice story. We live in Belgrano, in Buenos Aires, close to many clubs and academies—Fabián Blengino’s, Mariano Hood’s, Mauro Aprile’s. The academies would call my mom to host players because our house is very convenient logistically. The location helps a lot, especially with all the traffic in Buenos Aires. And yes, she’s been doing it for many years and still does. She loves it.
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