Marcelo Arévalo: A Friendly Guide to a Tennis Champion

Meet Marcelo Arévalo

Marcelo Arévalo is a tennis player from a small country called El Salvador. He is 35 years old. Tennis is a game where you hit a ball over a net with a racket – sometimes by yourself, sometimes with a friend.

Here are the latest things he did:

• On Thursday, he won a big match with Jelena Ostapenko (she is from Latvia). They won the mixed doubles final at Wimbledon. Mixed doubles means one man and one woman play together as a team.
• On Saturday, he will play another important match: the men’s doubles final. He will pair up with Mate Pavic from Croatia.
• If they win, it will be their second giant trophy together. Their first was at Roland Garros (a famous French tournament) in 2024.

Important Point: A Grand Slam is like the biggest, most special prize in tennis. There are only four each year, and winning one is a huge achievement!

Arévalo’s Previous Big Wins

• Before playing with Pavic, Arévalo won Roland Garros in 2022 with another partner, Jean-Julien Rojer from the Netherlands.
• His current partner Mate Pavic is 33 years old and has won seven Grand Slam titles in total (both men’s doubles and mixed doubles). He also earned a gold medal at the Olympic Games in Tokyo in 2021!

How Did Arévalo and Pavic Become Teammates?

It happened a bit like a coincidence. Here is the simple story in steps:

1. Pavic had been playing with a different teammate for about two and a half years.
2. Arévalo had been playing with his own teammate for about two years.
3. In 2024, both of those old teams stopped playing together at the same time.
4. Because they were both looking for new partners, they got the chance to play together – and they did!

Arévalo explains that Pavic has been playing professional doubles (teams of two) much longer than he has. When Arévalo was starting with other partners, Pavic was already playing and had already won some Grand Slams.

First Time Playing with Ostapenko

The win with Jelena Ostapenko at Wimbledon was actually their very first tournament as a team!

• Arévalo needed a mixed-doubles partner because the person he usually played with chose not to play in London.
• He sent Ostapenko a message asking if she was free and wanted to play with him. She said yes!
• They became champions right away – like magic on the court.

From Playing Alone to Playing with Friends

Tennis can be played alone (singles) or with a partner (doubles).

• Arévalo played singles until 2019, then decided to focus only on doubles starting in 2020.
• In 2018, his best world ranking (think of it as a scoreboard number) in singles was 139.
• His big breakthrough came in 2022 when he won his first Grand Slam doubles at Roland Garros.
• After that, he believed he could do even more great things. He says, “From then on I believed I could keep achieving big things. Thanks to God I was also world number one last year and we have won important tournaments.”

Important Point: Being world number one means you sit at the very top of the list of best players in the world – like being the best kid in the whole school at kickball!

A Family That Loved Tennis

Arévalo didn’t grow up where tennis is super popular. El Salvador doesn’t have a strong tennis culture. But his family sure loved it!

• His brother was actually the next best player in the country’s history, reaching the top 300 in singles worldwide. His brother was one of his biggest inspirations.
• His parents played tennis just for fun at a beach club, and they bought Marcelo his first racket.
• As a child, he saw his brother travel to many countries and come back with rolls of camera film. His mom would develop the photos, and the family loved seeing them. That made Marcelo want to travel and see new places too. He says it all started as a game.

What Could Happen Next?

On Sunday, Arévalo could celebrate his fourth Grand Slam doubles title overall. He already has these:

• Men’s doubles at Roland Garros (2022)
• Men’s doubles at Roland Garros (2024)
• Mixed doubles at Wimbledon (2026)

If he wins on Saturday with Pavic, that new win would be added, making Sunday a moment to mark his fourth big doubles trophy.

Important Point: This story is based on a report from AFP (Agence France-Presse) dated 2026. © 2026 AFP

Summary

Marcelo Arévalo is a 35-year-old from El Salvador who became a doubles tennis star. He just won mixed doubles at Wimbledon with Jelena Ostapenko, and is now preparing for a men’s doubles final with Mate Pavic (a Croatian player with seven Grand Slams and an Olympic gold). Arévalo switched from singles to doubles in 2020 after a best singles rank of 139, and his first Grand Slam win in 2022 boosted him to world #1 last year. His brother and parents introduced him to the game, and what started as a fun family activity could soon become his fourth Grand Slam title. His journey shows that with a racket, family support, and good teammates, you can see the world and achieve big dreams.

FAQ (Beginner Questions)

Q1: What is doubles tennis?
A: It’s when two players team up to play against another two players. There is men’s doubles (two men), women’s doubles (two women), and mixed doubles (one man and one woman). It’s like playing a video game with a buddy instead of alone.

Q2: What does “Grand Slam” mean?
A: In tennis, it’s the name for the four most important tournaments each year (Australian Open, French Open/Roland Garros, Wimbledon, US Open). Winning one is like getting the biggest gold star possible.

Q3: How did Marcelo start playing tennis?
A: His parents played for fun at a beach club and bought him a racket. His brother’s travels and photo albums inspired him to try the sport and explore the world.

Q4: Why is Mate Pavic considered experienced?
A: Pavic is 33, from Croatia, and has collected seven Grand Slam titles plus an Olympic gold medal. He has played on the professional doubles circuit much longer than Arévalo.

Q5: What is a tennis ranking number?
A: It’s a way to list players from best to worst. Number 1 is the very best in the world; number 139 is good but not at the very top. It works like a leaderboard in a game.