THE

COLLECTION

OF

IGOR DEL BUSTO

by Igor Del Busto

Ever since I started playing tennis, I’ve been involved in a bit of everything: ball boy, line judge, chair umpire, referee, Tournament Director, coach, club executive, federation executive, tennis journalist, and a professional player. I say “professional” with a pinch of modesty because I earned very little money… Nevertheless, I can 

proudly say that I’ve played with Gimeno, Bruguera, or Berasategui, and I’ve had the chance to interact with legends like Stan Smith, Arantxa Sánchez, Monica Seles, Agassi, Courier, Federer, Garbiñe Muguruza, and Rafa Nadal in various forums. 

Throughout these engagements in 25 countries and 45 provinces of Spain, I’ve come to know numerous clubs and courts, and I’ve shared experiences with many fellow “tennis people” who have enriched me as a person and imparted knowledge about the intricacies of our sport. I’ve attended over 40 Davis Cup ties, with Australia being the only Grand Slam I haven’t been to yet. I’ve been to more than 50 ATP and WTA tournaments and around 30 Spanish Age Championships. Additionally, I’ve taken part in countless championships, courses, seminars, congresses, and assemblies. 

Inevitably, all these experiences have turned me into a passionate lover of tennis history. 

I’ve been fortunate enough to visit Jeu de Paume or Real Tennis courts in Queens (London), Rue de Lauriston (Paris), or Newport (USA), as well as the museums of Wimbledon, Roland Garros, Hall of Fame (Newport), and the Catalan Federation, among others. Almost without realizing it, I’ve also become a collector of tennis rackets. 

Over the last 30 years, I’ve managed to gather “quite a few rackets” ranging from the late 19th century to the present day. From any collection, subgroups can be created based on brands, models, materials, shapes, historical periods, or those dedicated to great tennis players. Apart from these categories, I’ve made a division of “metallic” rackets or those used by the players themselves, but my “weakness” lies in the “Open Throat wooden rackets,” and I invest more time and money in them than in the others. Not all of them, but a significant number were the “last bastion” of wooden rackets and the first hints of the modern designs we have today. 

Lastly, I want to express my heartfelt gratitude to Jaume Busoms for allowing me to be a small part of his marvelous and spectacular website, one of the best in the world regarding rackets and the history of tennis.