Interesting that the commentators for the ATP 2022 finals described college tennis as coming back into fashion as a route to the pro tour. Was it ever out of fashion??

I recently posted a list of college players in the top 500 ranks. Lso found the following comments from a US tennismom on 4 former US college players  and their path to the pros - I couldnt find similar info on the Brits. 
I especially liked the point that you dont have to throw money at international travel, leave home for an academy or make the decision to focus on tennis too early.

The 4 SFs for Champaign Challenger are all former college players ranked inside the top 200: Americans Shelton (FL), Eubanks (GT), Kovacevic (IL) and Australian Vukic (IL). None of these played in the MD of a Jr Grand Slam, though Vukic did play Qualis of AO Open jrs. Shelton had the top ITF jr ranking of 306 but he only played 4 jr ITF events-3 of them in Florida. Kovacevic who lived in Florida only had a jr ITF ranking high of 528 with a record of just 32-30 or 50%.

4 players show that to have success on the pro Tour there is no need to play Jr ITFs-especially traveling internationally. Eubanks and Shelton only played a few close to home. These guys are ranked well ahead of many collegians who were ITF jr top 50. The earliest any of these earned ATP points was right before college. I think what was most helpful to the US guys were WCs into Futures, Challengers, and ATP 250s. These guys were also on the USTA Collegiate team. 

I hope these examples show that parents dont have to rush to spend a lot of $$ with international travel pre college. Late bloomers can flourish in college. Both Eubanks and Kovacevic were 5 stars not blue chips in high school. Eubanks played for his high school team-attended regular high school. Eubanks didnt play much USTA until later in HS-he was just a 4 star soph and 3 star freshman. Kovacevic was just a 4 star freshman-jr year but had a great run his senior year. There are folks that discourage junior players implying that they are behind if they dont start playing tourneys by 8 or 10 and national events by 12. That's a bunch of BS. Encourage any late bloomers you know. While very few will reach ATP 200, players who were 3 stars in middle school could end up playing line 1 at a D1 school, earn an ITA ranking, play NCAAs, and qualify into MDs of Futures. Players dont need to leave home, board at an academy for years to find success in college and/or the ATP Tour! The true talent will rise to the top without sacrificing their entire childhood.

For those looking for a tennis scholarship, the following links have lots of free advice

https://thetenniswizard.com/blogs
https://thetenniswizard.com/blogs/mens-tennis-scholarships-guide-faq-2022
https://thetenniswizard.com/blogs/womens-tennis-scholarships-guide-faq-2022

Before anyone asks  , I have no affiliation with this group it just popped up on FB

Coup Droit wrote:

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As an aside, and sorry to hijack it, but how's your daughter, EP? and her friend? How are you all doing?

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Thank you for asking. My daughters friend has no lasting physical injury, my daughter unfortunately has a scar on her nose, hopefully this will fade. They are both still very shocked by the attack and the police have been unable to find the woman, so seems she will get away with it. 

Coup Droit wrote:

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So sorry that it's not resolved - I wonder how much time and effort the police put into it.....

And your poor daughter....

I've no idea if it's really appropriate but have you thought of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Fund? She would almost certainly, in theory, be entitled to something - might pay for a swanky cosmetic surgeon or whatever..... just a thought..... 

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 Likely the police didnt put much effort in to it. She spoke to security and the police at the venue on the night  and neither of them were interested. Thank goodness there are still members of the public willing to step in or the outcome may have been much worse!

We will have a look into the Criminal Injuries Compensation Fund - thank you for the suggestion. 

College students excel at masters BNP 2022

Honfleur, France After three days of fierce competition at the 2022 MasterU BNP Paribas Championships, Team USA won the Gold, Great Britain Silver, and Australia Bronze.

When looking across the three medaling teams, it is clear that NCAA student-athletes played a big role in their teams success as 16 of the 18 players on the top-three finishing teams came from the American university system.

Considering 25 of the 46 participating players had NCAA ties, this is a prime example of how NCAA tennis is preparing many of the nations best players for success not only in college but on the tour and in other international events as well.

Brits Charlie Broom (Dartmouth, Baylor) and Holly Hutchison (Old Mis) get a write up and Emily Arbuthnot(Stanford) and Giles Hussey(Georgia State/TennEssex) get a mention

https://www.wearecollegetennis.com/2022/12/07/2022-masteru-bnp-paribas-championships/

edited iPad typos  

the addict wrote:

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Thanks for the link EP. There is some discussion oabout this tournament in the BUCS tennis thread, alittle buried now under other topics !

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 Found it - thank you  

I thought the tournament and players might have got a write up on the LTA website, but could not find anything apart from the dates

Elegant Point wrote:

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Cracked Rackets podcast for top Pre season 10 Mens and Womens teams 2023

Not keen on their new website design and no easy to follow lists

#6 TCU - Brits Jake Fearnley, Lui Maxted and Jack P-J gofrogs.com/sports/mens-tennis/roster
#7 Stanford - Brits Max Basing and Arthur Fery gostanford.com/sports/mens-tennis/roster

crackedracquets.com/tag/college-tennis-men/

crackedracquets.com/tag/college-tennis-women/

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 and of course, Luke Swan, brother of Katie, also plays for TCU.