World No. 10 Sophia Chow took time out of her busy schedule to reflect on her triumph at the 2022 Pan American Beach Tennis Championships, which took place in Rosario, Argentina just a few days after the end of the World Championships in Terracina, Italy.

My journey from Terracina to Rosario was probably one of the most difficult I have ever had to make while playing professional beach tennis. It was a very long two days where I barely slept.

To give you an idea, I had to catch an early flight from Bologna to Amsterdam after the World Championships had finished and then I took an 11-hour plane ride from the Netherlands to Sao Paolo. I got there at about five in the afternoon and it didn’t really make sense for me to go home, so my family all arrived to see me, and we had a good catch up over dinner in the airport before I had to fly to Buenos Aires and then on to Rosario.

When I arrived the next morning, I had no idea what meal I should even be eating, and you can imagine how my practise session went that day! But I had one of the best sleeps I have had in a long time that night – it was lovely to be lying down in a bed!

The whole Pan American Championships were an incredible experience for me. It was wonderful to see so many great matches and to compete against countries that we don’t always see on the tour. The transition from the conditions in Terracina to the conditions in Argentina took a little while to get used to.

In the Pan Americans, you play with someone from your own country because you are playing for your nation. I was partnering Julia Nogueira so we both had to get used to how one another plays on the court.

As it turns out, it couldn’t have gone better! We ended up winning the title.

Representing Brazil was a dream come true for me. Ever since I picked up a tennis racket when I was a little girl all I ever wanted to do was to play for my country and to do that, while playing beach tennis, and to win the title means everything to me. I can’t really put it into words how special it was. Every athlete in every sport wants to play for their country and to be able to do that and to come first was just incredible.

It definitely helps playing as part of a bigger team because all the players are looking out for one another – even if it’s just simple things like making sure your team-mates have water or food – we all have each other’s best interests in mind.

One day, I hope to play for Brazil in the Beach Tennis World Cup. I know the coach will have been following the matches in Rosario. He always keeps track of all the Brazilian players and pays special attention when we are competing in big events so, hopefully, I have shown him that I can play well.

It’s important not to think too much about that kind of thing as it can make you anxious and me and my partner were really nervous at the start of the tournament! There’s an extra weight that you feel when you are representing your country, for sure.

I already had some really good memories of playing tennis events in Argentina when I was younger, but now I’m going to have even better memories of winning the Pan American Championships.