Tennis
Over 1000 universities and colleges in America have a tennis program and award sports scholarships for their tennis teams. College tennis is a great way to combine university studies with sports at the highest level.
"College tennis is a unique opportunity. You can get an education and still progress to world class tennis. In other countries you must decide earlier between education or tennis"
Andy Jackson, Men's Tennis Head Coach UNLV
Tennis Season
The main season is held in the spring semester, while the fall semester is mainly used as preparation with individual tournaments (e.g. Invitationals & ITF Futures). From the beginning of January until the end of April, regular and intensive head-to-head competitions between the university teams are held.
The season ends for most teams with the conference tournament at the beginning of May, a championship where you play against teams from the same conference. The winners of the respective conferences and the highest ranked teams of the nation are then allowed to compete for the title in the following weeks at the national championships. After the end of the season, players are allowed to play in other tournaments.
Practice
Depending on the university and league, the intensity of training varies. The training usually includes 5-6 units per week. The tennis training takes about 2-3 hours per day. Besides the hours on the tennis court, the university teams also offer specific strength and speed training, including units for regeneration and physiotherapy in highly professional competition facilities.
Usually, separate coaches are responsible for the men's and women's tennis, supported by assistant coaches and graduate assistants, who are mainly responsible for recruiting and organizational tasks.
Requirements
The following prerequisites are not fixed values, but only serve as an indication of the strength level of individual college tennis divisions from a purely athletic point of view.
NCAA Division I
Men: UTR 10.5-14.5
Women: UTR 8.5-12.5
NCAA Division II
Men: UTR 9.0-13.0
Women: UTR 5.5-10.5
NAIA
Men: UTR 9.0-13.0
Women: UTR 5.5-10.5
NJCAA
Men: UTR 8.0-13.0
Women: UTR 5.5-10.5
ATP / WTA Tour players, who successfully played college tennis
John Isner - University of Georgia
Kevin Anderson - University of Illinois
Cameron Norrie - Texan Christian University
Steve Johnson - University of Southern California
Dominik Koepfer - Tulane University
Tennys Sandgren - University of Tennessee
Jennifer Brady - University of California, Los Angeles
Danielle Collins - University of Virginia
Nicole Gibbs - Stanford University
UNISPORTS success stories
Next steps
Would you like to play college tennis? Get in touch today for a non-binding evaluation of your chances!