Vamos! From Books to Rackets

The Saint interviewed first-team tennis player and performance athlete Alvaro Chavez Ossio from Cochabama, Bolivia about his love for competitive sports and how he balances his time off and on the court. 

Encouraged by his father’s support to try out tennis, Alvaro chose the tennis racquet over the football at the age of eight, quickly earning the nickname of ‘Chavo’ among his tennis peers. 

He motivates himself and encourages his teammates, shouting “Vamos” on court after striking winning points, with his forehand being his biggest weapon. Don’t expect to go to a BUCS tennis match without also hearing the player’s and crowd's favourite chant, “Allez”.

Having played college tennis in the States during his undergraduate degree, he was well prepared to play competitive tennis at St Andrews, where he also competes on indoor hard courts. With no wind, no unpredictable Scottish rain, or blinding sunlight on those rare summery days (if they even exist in Scotland), the conditions are always perfect. 

The University of St Andrews Tennis Club has over 400 members, making it the largest student club, offering classes for all levels, from beginners to performance programmes. The top 40 men and 40 women in the club are selected to be a part of the competitive squads, where the very best women and male players in the University are selected to be a part of the performance programme. The University encourages sporting and academic excellence. 

For athletes like Alvaro, balancing academics and sports requires immense commitment and discipline. As a performance athlete, he trains twice a week in group sessions, has one individual coaching session, plays one BUCS match and completes two strength and conditioning sessions. Currently pursuing a postgraduate degree in finance, his dedication on court extends to his academics as well. Alvaro explains how he balances the world of both sport and academics: “It’s about organising your time well, going to bed early, not going to all events and parties.” 

Tennis is an unpredictable sport full of pressure moments; one minute a player is up 5 to 1, and in the next few games, their opponent gains momentum to level the score to 5-5. An example of this is Mirra Andreeva, then 16, who made a miraculous comeback down from 1-5 against Parry to win the third-round match at the 2024 Australian Open. It is these moments that showcase the ability of tennis players to perform under immense pressure. Alvaro explains how he plays better under pressure and needs these moments to play his best. Instead of waiting for his opponent to miss the ball, he finds the courage to go for every shot and fight for those winning points. 

His contribution to the first team has been an exciting time. He has enjoyed playing singles and doubles. The standout match for Alvaro was getting to the semi-final in the BUCS Tennis Individual Qualifiers in Stirling, the largest individual tennis competition in UK university tennis.

On long travel days across Scotland, players get to really know their teammates “on another level,” from deep and emotional chats on life to funny and memorable moments, with match reports being a staple of any away game. Players are guaranteed to return to St Andrews with two things: being well fed by a traditional post-match tea from ‘Maccies’ and earning themself a nickname in match reports, decided at the fate of their teammates. 

Alvaro spoke about how he has gotten closer to his teammates on the first team, including Ed Pomeory, Louis Rinaldo, Jaime Medrano, Timothy Moore, and Ivan Raath and says they are “talented players and fighters on the court. I really admire them and have played many memorable matches with them. When travelling to our match in Stirling, it was so fun having deep conversations on many topics! The people you meet from tennis are so nice.” 

Interested not only in his own tennis, Alvaro takes a lot of inspiration from watching the pros play. His favourite tennis player is the up-and-coming eighteen-year-old tennis star Joao Fonseca, from Brazil. “He has a beautiful style and bright future,” says Alvaro. Alvaro is placing his predictions on Carlos Alcaraz and Iga Swiatek winning the French Open at the end of May. 

Playing competitive tennis at university has been one of the biggest highlights for Alvaro at University. Sport is the opportunity to escape the world of studies — putting down those books and picking up the racquet — but not for too long, that 5000 word deadline you haven’t started is still due Monday. 

Image by saintssportau