GIJON, September 10, 2026
At just 18 years of age, Xavi Palomar is already making his first steps towards establishing himself on the professional tennis circuit. The left-hander from Mallorca, currently ranked world No. 1,591, reached a career-high No. 776 earlier this month after a promising junior career that saw him climb as high as No. 69 in the world. In fall, he is going to start his study at Arizona State University in the United States.
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Palomar is playing his first full season on the ITF World Tennis Tour and is gaining valuable experience week by week. After reaching the semi-finals of an M15 event in Las Palmas last season, he has continued his progress in 2026, reaching the quarter-finals of this week’s 62nd Torneo Dionisio Nespral ITF World Tennis Tour M25 in Gijón, Spain.
His first-round victory in Gijón came under unusual circumstances, with heavy rain forcing the match to be moved indoors and played on an indoor clay court. For Palomar, however, the change of conditions was anything but a disadvantage. With his aggressive forehand and preference for fast, flat tennis, the indoor environment suited his game perfectly.
We caught up with the young Spaniard in Gijón after his first-round victory over fellow Spaniard Vicente Alcaraz Galbis to discuss his start to life on the Pro Circuit, his Mallorca roots, his admiration for Rafael Nadal, the areas of his game he wants to improve, and his ambitions for the future.
Tennis TourTalk: First of all, thanks for your time and congratulations on the win here. I think it was pretty difficult because of the conditions. How was it to play indoors?
Xavi Palomar: Yeah, I like to play indoors because I like to play aggressively with my forehand. Indoor is faster, so for me it’s better because I like to play more flat and fast. So, for me, I think it’s better.
You’re a pretty young player. Can you tell us a bit about yourself? Where are you from and where are you based?
I’m from Mallorca, Spain, and I’ve trained all my life there.
Now, this is my first year playing the ITF senior tournaments. So, I’m really happy. I’m travelling a lot and competing a lot. I’m really happy. I think my junior years were very good, so let’s see if I can start winning in the senior game and taking some points.
When you tell us you’re from Mallorca, there are obviously some pretty good players coming from the island. What is your connection to Rafael Nadal or Jaume Munar, for example?
Well, I don’t have any connection with them, but Nadal is my idol. I’m a lefty too, so Mallorca lefty — he’s my idol. I always try to play like him a little bit, you know. I also like Carlos Alcaraz and Jaume Munar. They’re really good players.
Where exactly are you based in Mallorca?
I live in a town in Andratx, and I practised for 10 years in Santa Ponsa, Calvià. Now I’m training in Palma.
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You were a very good junior, reaching the top 100 and even No. 69 in the world. What would you say are the main challenges when it comes to establishing yourself on the professional circuit?
I think it’s about starting to win matches because with the matches I get a good rhythm.
I play against really nice players in the Futures. All the players are really good. So, win matches, get a good rhythm, win points.
And if I can win a tournament, even better. But it’s really difficult. For now, I just want to start playing with the senior rhythm and win some matches.
You already said a couple of words about your game style, but what are your strengths and perhaps your weaknesses that you still have to work on?
I think from the baseline my forehand and my backhand are really good. I think my weakness is my serve, and I’m trying to improve it every day.
So, let’s see if during these last couple of months of the year I can improve my serve and start serving well, because I think this will help me a lot to win more matches.
You’re not alone here. I think that’s your coach? Is he travelling with you all the time, or how does it work?
No, normally I travel alone, but here I’m with some friends.
Two friends are playing a tournament and the other one is coming as a coach, but he’s our friend. He’s not our coach.
When you’re off the court, what are your interests and hobbies?
I like movies a lot. I like hanging out with friends. I like video games and playing other sports.
What’s your favourite movie?
Oof, I’m not sure. I love the Marvel movies, so maybe one Marvel movie.
When you’re interested in other sports, I guess you’re also a football fan. Which club do you support?
I support Real Madrid, always, but I also like Mallorca because I’m from Mallorca, and Andratx, my team from my town.
When you think about your goals in tennis, do you set yourself any goals in terms of ranking positions, or how does it work for you?
Obviously I want to be a pro. So, I need a really good ranking.
Ihave started to play Futures and try to reach the highest ranking I can.
To what extent is it an advantage for you to have so many tournaments here in Spain? You don’t have to travel so much, particularly during the summer season, right?
Yeah, here in Spain there are so many Futures, so I think in this type of thing the Spanish Federation does a really good job.
There are so many Futures here, and they help us with wildcards and with a lot of tournaments. So, I think it’s really good because all the Spanish players have a lot of opportunities to play these tournaments. I love it because I don’t have to go to many other European countries or Africa to play tournaments.
Do you also get some financial support from the Federation?
I used to last year, yes, but not this year.
So you have to finance it on your own, right?
Yeah, exactly. I always try to search for the cheapest option. I go with some friends, we share the rooms, we share all the things, and yeah, always the cheapest things. My family is a humble family and we have money, but this sport is very expensive and it’s difficult.
And what can we still expect from you here for the rest of the week?
Well, now I won the first round, so let’s see tomorrow. I think tomorrow will be a really good match, and let’s see if I can win match by match.
Perfect, thanks a lot and all the best.
Thank you.
Interview: Florian Heer
