Collegians Paving Careers After College On ITF and ATP Challenger Tours

While the Grand Slams, ATP Tour, and WTA Tour tend to take all of the focus when it comes to professional tennis, a vast majority of the professional players typically kick off their careers on the ITF Men’s and Women’s World Tours as well as the ATP Challenger Tour where players compete week in and week out to climb up in the professional ranks.

In 2023, current and former collegians have been kickstarting their careers after college on the ITF Men’s and Women’s Tours as well as the ATP Challenger Tour, winning over 120 Titles so far in the 2023 calendar year.

These players with college ties include former NCAA Singles and Doubles Champions, ITA National Champions, National Players of the Year, as well as current players who are contributing to their team’s success this season.

Beginning with the ATP Challenger Tour, former ITA National Player of the Year Nuno Borges (Mississippi State), as well as two-time ITA All-American Aleksandar Kovacevic (Illinois), already have claimed two ATP Challenger Singles Titles this season. Joining Rinky Hijikata (North Carolina) who won the Caterpillar Burnie International, these three players have already accounted for five Challenger Titles in 2023.

Across doubles play on the ATP Challenger Tour, 18 former collegians have won Doubles Titles across 14 Challenger Events with several winning on multiple occasions. Of these Champions, several currently rank within the Top 100 of the world as Nathaniel Lammons (SMU), Jackson Withrow (Texas A&M), Sadio Doumbia (AUM/Georgia), and Andre Goransson (Cal) make up just a few of these notable winners.

On the ITF Women’s World Tour, some of the top players from the 2021-22 season at the NCAA Division I level have seen their professional careers blossom as the past two NCAA Singles Champions, Peyton Stearns (Texas) and Emma Navarro (Virginia), have each won titles this year. They make up two of the eight former collegians who have won ITF Women’s Singles Titles so far in 2023.

From the ITF Men’s World Tour, former ITA All-Americans such as Gabi Adrian Boitan (Baylor), Gabriel Diallo (Kentucky), and Clement Chidekh (Washington) are all kickstarting their professional careers in a strong way on the ITF Tour. Current collegians have also made their presence felt on the ITF Men’s World Tour this year as Radu Mihai Papoe (Cornell) won the M15 in Ithaca, NY, and Arthur Fery (Stanford) won the M25 in Malibu, CA just a few months back.

Doubles play on the ITF Men’s and Women’s World Tour has been exceptional for collegians so far in 2023, as 73 Titles have already been won by both current and former student-athletes.

Names such as Daniel Cukierman (USC), Matej Vocel (Oklahoma State/Ohio State), and Nathan Ponwith (Arizona State) headline a crowded list of Champions on the men’s side which boasts alumni from the NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, and JUCO levels of play.

Similarly, on the women’s side, names such as Ashley Lahey (Pepperdine), Francesca Di Lorenzo (Ohio State), Elysia Bolton (UCLA), and Makenna Jones (North Carolina) are just a few of the Champions already in 2023, joining a list which features NCAA Champions, ITA All-Americans, and Australian Open Finalists.

The ITF Men’s and Women’s World Tour, as well as the ATP Challenger Tour, account for just a few of the numerous ways collegiate tennis players can spark professional careers after college. With tournaments taking place each and every week of the calendar year, many of these players serve as the backbone to the ultimately much larger tennis ecosystem.

Through programs such as the ATP Accelerator Program, the ITA hopes to continue to shine a light and provide a pathway to all players who have aspirations to pursue professional careers after their time in college is complete.

Read below for a complete list of ITF Tour and ATP Challenger Tour Champions with college ties to start the 2023 season:

Quick Travel: ITF Men’s Singles | ITF Men’s Doubles | ITF Women’s Singles | ITF Women’s Doubles | ATP Challenger Singles | ATP Challenger Doubles

ITF Men’s World Tour Singles Champions

ITF Men’s World Tour Doubles Champions

ITF Women’s World Tour Singles Champions

ITF Women’s World Tour Doubles Champions

ATP Challenger Singles Champions

ATP Challenger Doubles Champions

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