Eliot Spizzirri: America’s Top College Player To Make Challenger Debut | ATP Tour | Tennis

A number of gamers on the ATP Tour have gone the faculty route earlier than turning professional. This fortnight, the Wimbledon essential draw options 18 gamers with collegiate expertise together with John Isner, Ben Sheltonand Cameron Norrie.

American Eliot Spizzirri is hoping to grow to be the most recent collegiate star who additionally finds success on the subsequent stage, beginning on the ATP Challenger Tour. The 21-year-old is ready to make his Challenger Tour debut this week on the Cranbrook Tennis Classic in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, the place he has earned a main-draw spot through the ATP/ITA Accelerator Programme.

Spizzirri has loved a standout profession on the College of Texas. He lately accomplished his junior yr, ending as No. 1 within the ITA (Intercollegiate Tennis Affiliation) rankings.

“I feel many of the prime faculty gamers wish to go on and play professional tennis or at the very least give it a shot,” Spizzirri advised ATPTour.com lately on the NCAA championships in Lake Nona, Florida. “So I feel I am prepared to offer it a strive. I really feel mentally prepared. And we’ll see the way it goes.

“You do not know how prepared you might be till you get on the market. And you then play these matches and get the alternatives and the experiences. So I am tremendous excited.”

Spizzirri was a quarter-finalist within the 2023 NCAA singles championships and completed runner-up in doubles alongside Cleeve Harper. The American credit his time in Austin as an enormous a part of his growth.

“I did not really feel like I used to be bodily and mentally able to decide to taking part in a full professional schedule,” Spizzirri mentioned. “I am so grateful I selected Texas, they’ve all of the assets you might probably ever have to grow to be a prime skilled tennis participant. They’ve helped me develop my recreation, and simply grow to be lots stronger bodily and mentally. The teaching workers, the power and conditioning workers, nutritionist, trainers, it is all you might ever need as an athlete. It’s an unreal expertise.”

Spizzirri grew up in Greenwich, Connecticut and educated on the USTA Nationwide Tennis Middle in Flushing Meadows from ages 12 to 18. He holds fond recollections in Flushing Meadows, the place he has been in a position to practise with gamers comparable to Roger Federer and Andy Murray. In 2021, Spizzirri acquired a qualifying wild card to his house Slam and defeated Alejandro Tabilo within the opening spherical.

After coming off the emotional excessive of the US OpenSpizzirri was met with a problem. Ache in his wrist brought on by ‘overuse’ compelled him to vary his fashion of play for a complete season. He finally opted for surgical procedure.

“I received wrist surgical procedure [in 2022] and performed a complete season earlier than getting surgical procedure, solely slicing backhands. That was final yr,” Spizzirri mentioned. “It was fairly an expertise to learn to win factors in numerous methods. It teaches you numerous about your self. On the time, it is so robust going by way of one thing like that, particularly whenever you really feel such as you’re taking part in your greatest tennis.

“However my coaches at all times advised me to take a look at it as a blessing like, ‘You get to work in your forehand, you get to create different weapons.’ I feel it actually helped me remodel my recreation and labored on my volleys, my serve, transition recreation. I would not return and alter it. However It was actually robust within the second.”

A 3-time ITA All-American, Spizzirri’s laborious work has earned him six main-draw entries into choose Challenger Tour occasions this yr. The American is one among 21 gamers eligible for accelerator spots through their year-end ITA rating or by reaching the quarter-finals of the NCAA singles championships.

“It is such an awesome alternative for us faculty guys,” Spizzirri mentioned. “It undoubtedly helps us out, particularly given I’ve had accidents within the final year-and-a-half. So I have never been in a position to play as many professional tournaments.”

Spizzirri will face fifth seed Alexis Galarneau within the opening spherical of the Bloomfield Hills Challenger. Ought to he advance, he might meet NCAA singles champ Ethan Quinn within the second spherical.