By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
As tough as the last six months have been in navigating a "new normal" affected by COVID-19, try walking a mile in Roberto Maytin's shoes.
The former Baylor All-American tennis player, who was ranked as high as No. 86 in the world in doubles, was diagnosed with testicular cancer last November and had a follow-up surgery in March to remove his left kidney.
"It was kind of shocking in the beginning," said the 31-year-old Maytin, who has won 14 Challenger doubles titles since turning pro in 2013 after his senior year at Baylor. "To be true, I didn't think much about tennis in that moment. That first week, it was tough to realize and admit that I have this problem. But then, you just say, 'I have nothing to do but just go get the treatments and kill it.' I had a good, positive attitude, and it helped, too, having my family around."
His mom, Betty Castillo, was vacationing in Florida when Maytin had the first surgery last November and "stayed with me all through the process," he said. But, when Roberto had his second surgery on March 19, he couldn't have any visitors because of the coronavirus.
"That was right when they started shutting everything down," he said. "The surgery was tough, it took like seven hours. And I just wanted to see someone, but I couldn't see anyone for a week. Because of the COVID, they didn't allow any visitors to the hospital. I was there in the hospital for seven days and couldn't see anyone."
While his ATP doubles ranking had dipped out of the top 100, Maytin had a successful 2019 season that included four Challenger titles with three different partners – Americans Robert Galloway and Jackson Withrow and Brazilian Fernando Romboli. At the end of September, Maytin and Galloway lifted the trophy at the First Republic Challenger in Tiburon, Calif.
Two months later, when he went to the emergency room back home in Miami, Fla., because of intense pain on his left side, the doctors detected a Germ Cell Tumor (non-seminoma) and had to remove his left testicle.
"Everything happened so fast," he said. "The doctor said, 'You have to stay, you can't leave. We have to do the surgery in two days.' They removed it two days later, and then I started chemo the week after that. It was just really quick."
Immediately, Maytin's focus shifted from a promising tennis career to staying alive and beating cancer.
"Beating cancer, I think it helped me a lot that I've been an athlete all my life," he said. "I'm really competitive, I don't like to lose. Right now, I'm so pumped up. I don't remember a time when I was this pumped up like I am now. I want to make a difference. I want to motivate players, motivate kids, and tell that everything is possible. No matter what your health problem is, you can always get back up."
After months of chemotherapy and physical rehab, that's exactly what Maytin has done, announcing last month that he is cancer-free.
"I'm not 100 percent yet, but I'm getting there," he said. "I had to take it step by step: don't rush, don't do weights. I would say it was like 2 ½ months just to start going up again. I'm feeling better, my body is feeling better. I think it's going to take a few more months to be 100 percent, but for sure in January I will be ready to go."
Because of the shutdown on the ATP Tour, Maytin hasn't had to defend any of his acquired points, falling just two spots to No. 146 in Monday's updated rankings. His plan now is to possibly play some open or Futures tournaments in November and December and jump back into Challenger-level events in January.
"In that moment, I didn't think about coming back for tennis," Maytin said of his initial cancer diagnosis. "But, my goal is not complete. For doubles, I'm still young. I still have time to play some good doubles. My goal for now is to make it into the top 50 in the world."
After earning a No. 1 juniors ranking in Venezuela, Maytin had a successful career at Baylor that earned him a second-team spot on the All-Decade team that was released in May. The highlight came as a sophomore in 2011, when he earned doubles All-America honors, reaching the NCAA quarterfinals with John Peers and setting a school record with 39 doubles wins.
"For me, Baylor was my best decision so far in the tennis conversation," he said, "because I raised my level and I started understanding where my level was. I had a lot of success in doubles."
Set on getting a "regular" job when he finished his playing career at Baylor, Maytin said then-head coach Matt Knoll convinced him to give pro tennis a shot.
"Coach Knoll told me, 'You should go play tennis. You're so young. You're going to have plenty of time to go get a regular job when you're 40 or 45,''' he said. "I feel like my goal is not completed. I am so pumped to be back on the court. I missed it a lot."
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