The Valley’s Pathway to Elsewhere Tennis Pipeline

PHOENIX — The Valley’s collegiate tennis scene is on the rise, whilst local talent disperses to other states across the country.

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Tennis is a sport that has grown in popularity at the collegiate level, with players from all around the world coming to the United States to play at a highly competitive level. The other advantage of playing in the NCAA is that you can get a degree while playing at one of the highest levels before becoming a professional tennis player.

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Programs around the Valley, like the men’s and women’s tennis teams at Arizona State University, have succeeded in conference play with the help of their highly talented roster and coaching staff.

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Both the men’s and women’s tennis teams at Arizona State University have players from out of state and international players.  

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Many tennis coaches around the Valley have played NCAA tennis and understand the transition from junior to collegiate tennis.

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West Valley Tennis head professional and former ATP, Greek Davis Cup player, and NCAA athlete Michail Pervolarakis has attributed the lack of major talent being produced to the scarcity of advanced tennis academies and tournaments in the Valley.

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“There’s not really a path like the futures, first level, and professional tournaments that get you some ranking,” Pervolarakis said. “There are no ITF or junior ITF tournaments that will get you an international ranking.”

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The lack of advanced tournaments in the surrounding area makes the sport less appealing to people who want to fully commit to playing the sport, resulting in them moving, quitting, or spending more to travel around the country to receive a ranking.

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Ranking is crucial in tennis because it allows a player to put their name out to college recruiters so that they can compete in highly skilled tournaments against some of the best players. Without ranked tournaments locally, the tennis scene becomes dry, forcing players to spend more or move.  

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Around the Valley, there are many up-and-coming tennis players who commit to playing at the collegiate level.

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Colorado State University commit Zaria McGinty is from the Valley and won the state championship in 2023.

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McGinty said she committed to Colorado State during her official visit after feeling like it was the right place, especially with the coaches and the players on the team.

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Location has played a major role in McGinty’s tennis participation, with traveling becoming a requirement in order to play higher-level tournaments.

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“I’ve played a lot of tournaments here in Arizona, but the majority of the in-state tournaments are down in Tucson,” McGinty said. “Normally, during the summer, we’ll travel to Florida to play in some tennis academies as well as play in the ATA National.”

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McGinty’s story supports the argument that there aren’t enough advanced tournaments in the Valley that allow participants to earn rankings.

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Many players across the country end up playing at the collegiate level at a university away from their hometown because of the recruiting process and other factors for each person.

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Social media has expanded the reach of universities around the country more effectively because players can easily put film or stats on their pages, allowing them to put themselves out there for recruiters to take notice.

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Local universities aren’t suffering from local talent committing to their university because, just like the players, they can use social media for recruiting talent from around the world.

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Social media has changed the landscape of collegiate recruitment, especially for smaller sports that don’t get that much attention compared to the larger NCAA sports like football and basketball.