Tennis Atlantic

It took me four and a half years but I finally broke my career high singles ranking of 475 that I achieved while attending Florida State University. I’m currently sitting at 471 and when the rankings are updated I will be ranked even higher. While this achievement might mean very little when considering my goal of making runs deep into grand slam events, it was a personal one that was always on my mind. Leaving the great job and career path I was on while working at Morgan Stanley was one of the most difficult decisions of my life. At the very least I felt that I had to make it back to where I was at FSU. People have always asked me if I imagined how well I could have done if I never stopped playing. Though there isn’t one ounce of me that regrets my time in finance, I too have wondered what would have happened. I don’t have to wonder anymore.

The best part about the accomplishment was that my dad was coaching me during the events that led to my new ranking. Because I couldn’t afford to bring one of the coaches from Ginepri Performance Tennis to the tournaments with me I asked my dad for help. Before attending FSU he was my primary coach so I had full confidence that he could help me for a few weeks. As one can imagine my father and I butt heads a lot but our conversations were productive and I was able to get better every single day I stepped out on to the court with him. By the third event I was playing the best tennis since I got injured. I made a run to the semifinals of the U.S. F9 future where I secured my career high ranking.

To top it all off, during one of the tournaments I had the pleasure of meeting with Eugenio Kettelsen. He is the President and CEO of ENGN (Which is also the official apparel partner of Tennis Atlantic), a brand new tennis clothing company. We met because he was interested in sponsoring me. I will admit that I was a little reluctant in signing with a brand new company when there are so many great brands out there, but once I spoke with Eugenio and his vision for ENGN, my worries were laid to rest. All he talked about was helping players achieve their dreams of having a successful tennis career. As a player himself he understood how difficult it is to make it to the top and how there is almost no support for players. It wasn’t about him or the brand or about making money. It was about building a brand that really was FOR the player. I immediately wanted to get on board with ENGN. As soon as I tried out their gear, which by the way is fantastic, I asked him to send over the contract.

For the next week I will continue to train in South Florida before I go to Israel. There are two 10k futures and a 125k challenger. It’s the farthest I’ve traveled outside of the country since I went to Europe for junior events when I was 16. I’m always a little nervous traveling to a place I’ve never been to but I’m also excited as many friends have told me how beautiful Israel is. If there’s one good thing about being a professional tennis player it’s the beautiful places we get to travel to along the way.