The Approach to College Tennis From Every Angle

You've probably heard from almost everyone involved in tennis that our sport is the “Sport of a Lifetime”–that tennis’ benefits of fitness, community and health are unparalleled. What you may not know is that for young people, tennis can provide another huge upside: A pathway to college.

For example, the John McEnroe Tennis Academy (JMTA) is proud to have graduated more than 50 students who have received admission and tennis scholarships at top colleges and universities across the country—a number that will grow significantly this fall. From scholar-athlete Sabrina Xiong, currently a freshman at Harvard University, who received the first full scholarship to attend JMTA in 2010 based on her performance in an open tryout with 250 other aspiring players; to current ATP pro Noah Rubin, who was the ACC Player of the Year and NCAA singles finalist in 2015 playing for Wake Forest University; to current WTA pro Jamie Loeb, who was the 2015 NCAA singles champion playing for the University of North Carolina; to current freshman Jessica Golovin, making her mark as the number two singles player for Louisiana State University (LSU), tennis success can provide a fully-funded college education, leading to academic achievement and to virtually unlimited opportunity in and out of tennis.

And for the highest achievers, a new form of scholarship is becoming popular, allowing players to play a year or more of collegiate tennis, then to join the pro tours, and then to return to complete their degrees, still on scholarship, after their playing careers are over.

For those not aspiring to a pro career and for those who want to attend top academic institutions that may not offer athletic scholarships, tennis achievement and recruitment can still be a key to college admission. For many, tennis has been the driver of school admission and choice, and intercollegiate competition has provided a unique sense of college community–an experience that, like the sport itself, lasts a lifetime.

According to Nate Emge, associate director and a director of college placement at JMTA, finding the right college can be a daunting process. 

“A student may feel that he or she knows exactly what they want to study and/or where they want to play college tennis,” said Emge. “The key to choosing a school often boils down to whether one school meets both needs.”

Exposure to a variety of colleges and universities, and a college recruiting process that includes some good guidance and support along the way, can help student/athletes to maximize their opportunities and to make wise choices. Whatever a student’s goal may be: whether to play at the highest possible level in college, or to use tennis to gain admittance to the most selective schools, or both, Emge reminds us that playing college tennis is its own reward.

“Playing college tennis is an evolution of the team experience that many encounter in high-school, playing tennis or other sports, which allows players to build close relationships with teammates and coaches,” Emge said. “For most, their college tennis experience will offer a new level of intensity at practices and in the gym and the level of competition will also be consistently high. The college player has the opportunity to mature both physically and emotionally, and to do so as a young adult, and independently from parents. There’s nothing like it!”

To support its students and other scholar/athletes from the greater New York area and beyond, the John McEnroe Tennis Academy is launching the JMTA College Combine. Designed to benefit rising high school sophomores, juniors and seniors, the inaugural JMTA College Combine will take place June 18-19 at Sportime Randall's Island. The event will help a broad group of junior players who might not otherwise have the opportunity to interact with top college coaches in a live format. The Combine will help participants showcase their skills and personalities through match play and athletic performance and mental toughness assessments. Coaches committed and expected to attend will represent colleges and universities from all three NCAA Divisions.

“We think that the JMTA College Combine will be a uniquely effective way to give every kid a chance to display his or her talents in front of a wide array of coaches,” said John McEnroe. “While we expect to see some players from other parts of the country and even from around the world, my hope is that this first Combine is going to shine a light on some of the great tennis talent we are developing here in the greater New York City area and that future Combines will show that we are only just getting started.”