In tennis, a sport where the spotlight is on the sole competitor, it’s easy to forget how much of a player’s identity is formed long before he steps onto the court. For Martin Landaluce, the steady climb to the 2025 Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF has not only been about developing his talent, but also about having the right voice next to him, pushing, guiding and grounding.
One of those voices belongs to Oscar Burrieza, one of the Spaniard’s two coaches, alongside Esteban Carril.
The collaboration between Landaluce and Burrieza started with a phone call. Landaluce was only 14, full of potential, but still a mystery to the top coaches. Burrieza was working with established professionals in Madrid when Landaluce’s father reached out.
“I remember his father calling me and talking to me about the possibility of coaching Martin,” Burrieza told ATPTour.com in September. “He wasn’t sure if I would be open to coaching a 14-year-old. He asked me if I knew him.”
Burrieza did what every coach does when curiosity is piqued. He went online, pulled up a few games and watched.
“I immediately liked what I saw,” Burrieza said. “From the first time we met, we had a good relationship. Even in the beginning I could see that he was a very nice boy, mature for his age and responsible. On the field he was willing to work and eager to learn. Frankly, it was easy to start working with him.”
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That ease has turned into years of discipline, progress and perspective. It’s a combination that has produced one of the most balanced young players on Tour.
Landaluce captured the US Open Boys’ singles title in 2022 and then claimed his first ATP Challenger Tour title in 2024. A second win at that level followed in 2025, with the 19-year-old reaching a career-high No. 110 in the PIF ATP Rankings in October.
Landaluce’s rise has been built brick by brick and every milestone strikes Burrieza with a familiar mix of pride and purpose.
“As a coach, every time you get a good result with your player you feel proud and happy,” Burrieza said. “Happy for them, but also for yourself and the work you put in. When Martin became number 1 in the world among the juniors, when he won the US Open junior title, those were very special moments. But to be honest, not much changes. We enjoy the training weeks, not just the competition.”
What sets Landaluce apart goes beyond his backhand or his court sense. Burrieza believes his greatest asset is something rare, something almost intangible.
“To me, his mental poise is one of his greatest talents,” Burrieza said. “Tennis is mentally brutal. Most weeks you lose. But Martin has the ability to wake up the next day and go back to training as if nothing has happened. He resets emotionally. Whether he is about to play in the Madrid Open or a Futures match, he behaves the same. That consistency in attitude is rare.”
It is also nourished. Burrieza gives him space, lets him be independent, lets him be 19. They travel together, train together and find rhythm in the everyday. And beneath the professional structure there is a warmth that drives everything.
“We don’t have to be friends because I’m his coach,” Burrieza said. “I care about him a lot, as a person. I love him and I really want the best for him.”
That human connection is the relationship between player and coach.
It’s a theme that runs through this generation of #NextGenATP stars. The Italian Federico Cina knows it inside and out. His rise, which includes his first tour-level victory in Miami and three ATP Challenger Tour finals, has been built around the familiar voice he hears every day: his father and coach, Francesco Cina.
“That might be the hardest part: He’s the coach on the field and the father off the field,” Cina said. “But my father is very good at separating the two. On the field he talks to me like a coach, and off the field he is just my father. I like to have that balance. It’s very cool and I feel happy.”
Together they break down opponents. They solve practices together. And when stress strikes, Francesco resets his son in the same way Burrieza supports Landaluce.
“My coach and my father remind me to continue to enjoy training,” Cina said. “It is very important to keep that spirit, and the results will come.”
Burrieza hopes to take Landaluce to the next level this year in Jeddah, where the Spaniard will compete in the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF. More progress will come for Cina alongside his father Francesco, and he will be in good shape to qualify for the 20 and under event in 2026.
This is the fifth feature of our Next Gen ATP series Next in Line. Read our other stories here:
Wimbledon dreams, Nishikori’s run and Vinci’s field lessons: Next Gen stars share memories
Next steps: how Tien, Basavareddy and Engel make the jump
Learn with Legends: Nadal, Cilic and Ram inspiring #NextGenATP stars
Fuel for the future: in the mindset of the best young people
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