Last weekend, the 2024 edition of the Australian Open began and also this year many (ex) college tennis players from around the globe are competing on the grand stage. The amount of college tennis players represented in the Australian Open draw is a testament that collegiate tennis is a great stepping stone for professional competition.
Marking the most collegiate representation in recent years, 27 players with college ties in 2024 is up from 21 players in 2022 and 22 players in 2023. This shows the continued growth of players from the college level, as the pathway from junior tennis to professional tennis continues to emphasize the value of adding time in college between the two.
Four players will be making their Grand Slam main draw debut at the Australian Open, Adam Walton (University of Tennessee), Yuliia Starodubtseva (Old Dominion university), McCartney Kessler (University of Florida), and Lulu Sun (University of Texas) while four former collegiate players enter the Australian Open as seeded players, Ben Shelton (16, University of Florida), Cameron Norrie (19,TCU), Francisco Cerundolo (22, University of South Carolina), and Emma Navarro (27, University of Virginia).
Below you will find the complete list of players with college ties competing in the Australian Open singles draws:
Men’s singles draw
PLAYER | SCHOOL | ATP RANK |
---|---|---|
Ben Shelton (16) | Univeristy of Florida | 16 |
Cameron Norrie (19) | Texas Christian University | 19 |
Francisco Cerundolo (22) | University of South Carolina | 22 |
Christopher Eubanks | Georgia Tech University | 34 |
Mackenzie McDonald | UCLA | 42 |
Yannick Hanfmann | USC | 49 |
JJ Wolf | Ohio State University | 54 |
Marcos Giron | UCLA | 60 |
Dominik Koepfer | Tulane University | 61 |
Aleksandar Vukic | University of Illinois | 63 |
Nuno Borges | Mississippi State University | 66 |
Rinky Hijikata | North Carolina University | 70 |
Borna Gojo | Wake Forest University | 91 |
Arthur Rinderknech | Texas A&M University | 97 |
Aleksandar Kovacevic (Q) | University of Illinois | 110 |
Adam Walton (WC) | University of Tennessee | 176 |
Patrick Kypson (WC) | Texas A&M University | 186 |
Women’s singles draw
PLAYER | SCHOOLS | WTA RANK |
---|---|---|
Emma Navarro (27) | University of Virginia | 31 |
Peyton Stearns | University ofTexas | 48 |
Danielle Collins | University of Florida/Virgina | 54 |
Mayar Sherif | Fresno State/Pepperdine | 58 |
Emina Bektas | University of Michigan | 88 |
Diana Shnaider | North Carolina State University | 95 |
Leolia Jeanjean (Q) | Lynn/Baylor/Arkansas | 154 |
Yuliia Starodubtseva (Q) | Old Dominion University | 156 |
McCartney Kessler (WC) | University of Florida | 207 |
Lulu Sun (Q) | University of Texas | 217 |
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