Marta Xargay

At the beginning of July, after the European Championships in Hungary, I went to the United States to play in the WNBA, the women’s basketball league, for a team called Phoenix Mercury. I spent my summer in Phoenix because the league goes on until September. I’ll be playing three games per week until the 13th of September when the play-offs begin. Although I’m based in Phoenix, I travel around the country playing WNBA games. This summer is a bit different because what I normally like to do is go to the beach to disconnect and rest. I like to take a few days off and head for Menorca or Ibiza. I also take advantage of the summer to spend some time with my family because I don’t see them very much during the rest of the year and in August I have to start preparing myself physically for the coming season. Since the physical demands are quite high during the season I try to rest a lot in order to be in good shape for the games and for training. But I do try to go to the cinema, go shopping, read and watch TV series. At the moment I’m reading lots of books about fashion because my sister, Meritxell, and my mother, Montse, have a clothes shop in Girona called Unaunica. So, I’m trying to learn as much as I can about it. It’s very hot in the US in the summer and so far I haven’t found many differences with regard to Catalonia because I haven’t been here long and I’m still adapting to all the changes. But everyone has welcomed me with open arms; the club is giving me lots of help, and I’m even playing with two ex-teammates from when I played in Salamanca. I plan to stay in the United States after the summer, though I’ll have a week’s holiday to go back home and stay there as long as possible.