Temptation can be overpowering at the US Open. Especially for teenagers in the juniors' draws who mingle with the stars, play on adjacent courts and hear thunderous crowds applauding a great shot in a cavernous stadium a few yards away.
“When the kids come here and play the junior Grands Slams, they feel like they’re so close to making it,” said University of Texas men’s head coach Bruce Burque. But often, the reality is: they’re not.
“Between the junior tournament and the pro tour, there are many steps in between,” Burque explained. “But a lot of times, the players want to skip college and go for it.”
Despite the recent success of 2024 US Open semifinalist Emma Navarro, last 16 Brandon Nakashima, and a trail of other top pros like John Isner who played NCAA tennis, college recruiting “is still really hard,” said Alison Ojeda, the head coach of women’s tennis at the University of Tennessee.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if 80% of the players in this [junior] draw told you, ‘I’m not thinking about college tennis,’” she said. “But then the reality of expenses hit, and come month 8, 9, 10, while they’re still eligible for college tennis, that’s when we can come in and scoop some players up.”
One reason juniors may try to skip the NCAA pathway, Ojeda said, is that players underestimate the quality and depth of college tennis. “I don’t think people understand the level of it. The Top 10 junior might actually [only] be the 30th best player in the country in college tennis.”
For example, Lucciana Perez Alcaron of Peru, a finalist at the 2023 French Open girls’ tournament, went to Texas A&M and was playing most of next year at No. 4 and 5 on her team.
They might also overlook the immense resources available at top universities, a comprehensive safety net that Ojeda describes as "unbelievable."
“From a strength and conditioning standpoint, sports psychology, mental health—all those resources are right there, on-site for the student-athlete," said Ojeda.
“We’re paying to get their racquet strung. We’re paying for travel. We’re training them. We’re developing them. We’re also making sure their overall health is taken care of. They’re going to class, making good grades. And they’re getting better at our expense,” Ojeda added.
Burque agrees, adding that the team atmosphere in college can also provide a “security blanket. A lot of times, when kids turn pro and start to do badly for the first time—which they invariably will—it can weigh on their psyches pretty heavily. Especially when they’re used to being the top junior players and suddenly, they’re having to deal with losing—a lot.”
Having supportive teammates and knowing that they depend on you to win team titles widens their perspective beyond their own efforts.
Once they’re in college, Ojeda said, “it’s really easy for them to stay. When they come to school, they love it, then they realize, ‘I’m surrounded by better players right here on my own team.’ The competition week in and week out is like playing a [WTA player ranked 150 to 450] every single weekend if you’re at the top of the lineup.”
Also, learning to play under the rules of college tennis can have huge benefits on the pro tour. In college, there are no let serves, and it uses no-ad scoring.
“I love no-ad,” said Ojeda, because “it puts pressure on you and forces you to understand urgency. Then you come here [to the US Open] and all of a sudden, you have a massive advantage.”
Perhaps, Ojeda suggested, that may have helped Navarro beat the defending US Open champion Coco Gauff in the fourth round this week. Gauff is not in college. Navarro played two years at the University of Virginia. Gauff had 20 double-faults, including 11 in the third set whereas Navarro was calm and knew that she could still win points without striking high-risk serves.
Internationally, the college game can offer benefits as well, said Matias Marin of Argentina, who was a French Open boys' doubles finalist in 2000 and went on to help Baylor win the 2004 NCAA title (with teammate Benjamin Becker of Germany, who would beat Andre Agassi at the US Open two years later in Agassi’s last match as a pro). Marin now works alongside Ojeda as an Associate Head Coach at Tennessee.
“If you’re from a country that plays a lot on clay, [come] learn to play on hard courts,” he advised. “And then go pro. If you’re 18, 19 [years old], one year isn’t going to delay your career.”
Ojeda added that many young men are still physically growing and maturing during their college years “and women are playing longer than they used to, so I think going to school is becoming an option.”
For at least one player in the US Open girls’ draw, Malak El Allami, attending Columbia University this fall was a no-brainer. In 2023, she became the first girl from Morocco to win a junior Grand Slam singles match, at Wimbledon, and said, “I didn’t grow up thinking about college but once I started getting recruited by some coaches, I wasn’t opposed to the idea. I like the coaches at Columbia. Everyone is fighting to win for the team. It was somewhere I could become a better player, person, and student.
“I was born and raised in Casablanca, Morocco, and I trained there my whole life,” she said. “I’m on my own here in the US, but now I’m goning to be part of the Columbia Lions family.
“Tennis is such a difficult sport. You don’t know if you’re going to make it. You don’t know if you’re going to get injured,” El Allami said, “ So having an education, something to lean on, is always good.”
