Brancaccio climbs out of hell: "I saw everything dark, lost my hope, I was empty"

Fernando Murciego | 5 Apr 2026 | 20.30

Brancaccio rises from hell: "I saw everything dark, lost my hopes, was empty." Source: Punto de Break

Streaming Challenger Cattolica live tennis

🎾 Pierluigi Basile vs Raul Brancaccio

Sign up with Bet365 here
Make your first deposit of at least €5
Go to the “Live” section and watch every match

Watch the match on Bet365

The second edition of the Open Menorca concluded this Sunday with the title in the hands of Raúl Brancaccio, a man who has had to go through his own personal purgatory to rediscover the compass on the court.

Between quitting professional tennis and winning the most important title of your career, there isn't much difference. One day you might be considering the first option, and months later, in a radical twist of events, you find yourself fulfilling the latter. Raúl Brancaccio (Torre del Greco, 1997) knows this well after leaving behind the darkest stage of his career, wandering the circuit without a clear goal and mentally drained. It seemed like the end, but the Italian clung to those who still believed in him to wake up from that nightmare.

This morning, as he lifted his third Challenger title as a professional tennis player at the Open Menorca 2026, Brancaccio's eyes had a special shine. It was the emotion of a survivor, of someone who had doubted the very meaning of life, resurrected this Easter to bite again within the court like in the old times. Punto de Break responds to the call of an exceptional guy who is not ashamed to show the feelings that have been tormenting him in recent years.

How great when a week like this happens, right?

One tries to make more weeks like this happen during the year, but it's difficult. Last week, I had a turning point with my team; we had a very long talk where we spoke very seriously. I came here with a changed mindset, I felt very prepared, although in the first round, I faced Sebastian Ofner, a tough match. I was lucky that it was very windy, which gave me more opportunities than on a normal day, so winning that match gave me a lot of confidence for what was to come next.

What topics did you discuss with your team?

Basically, if I wanted things to work out, I had to change my mindset, believe in myself again. I had lost confidence, enthusiasm, had been through mentally tough years... until in February, I played another Challenger final and things seemed to start changing. However, losing that final caused another downturn because things were not going as I wanted. Last week, I lost a match without fighting, with a very bad attitude, hence the conversation I had with my team. I realized I still have time to set things right, but it takes a lot of work to do so. I was convinced that someday there would be a reward, although perhaps I didn't expect it to come so soon.