Florida men’s tennis will endure its fair share of hostile environments in 2024-25. With 10 of UF’s 11 tournaments being on the road this season, the amount of travel could be daunting.
However, with the amount of experience that UF’s roster has competing across the globe, the Gators may just be able to use it to their advantage.
Some players face a culture shock traveling to unfamiliar courts or venues. The atmospheres may create challenges both on and off the court, but freshman Francesco Cordova is no stranger to these elements.
“There's different factors,” Cordova said. “There's places you haven't been, there's food that you are not usually eating.”
Playing internationally is just one layer of a tennis player elevating his game to a topflight level. Men’s tennis players also face fierce competition.
Traveling creates extra wear and tear on the body, and some players face additional battles when it comes to weather in different regions of the world.
Cordova played in the qualifying draw of the men’s M15 Kingston Tournament that took place in Jamaica. He had to adapt to the change in temperature, he said.
“It was extremely hot. It wasn't like how I'd normally train,” Cordova said.
In tennis, being an elite athlete means more than how you perform between the court lines. It’s about having the dedication to consistently travel while competing in high-pressure tournaments and matches.
Florida has a wide variety of international athletes who have immense experience appearing in tournaments across the world, one of whom is sophomore Henry Jefferson from London. Over the summer, Jefferson played in The Junior Championships, Wimbledon.
“I grew up 15 to 20 minutes from there, going there as a kid,” Jefferson said. “Playing there was pretty special to me. It's my favorite tournament. It's my dream.”
Playing in a home tournament can create extra pressure for players, making the competition simultaneously harder and easier on the player.
Jefferson is looking forward to carrying over his experiences from playing in a Grand Slam to the Gators’ roster this Fall.
“I had some good matches there,” Jefferson said. “I just learned from them, I watched them back, seen the stats. Hopefully just take them into Florida, take that experience and try to use the momentum to get into some of these four tournaments.”
Jefferson isn't the only Gator who played in a home-turf Grand Slam tournament. Hailing from Sydney, Australia, sophomore Jeremy Jin played at the Australian Open Junior Championships.
He played two matches before being eliminated in the second round of the tournament. Even though the end result wasn’t favorable, Jin gained valuable reps that he couldn’t have gotten anywhere else, he said.
“It's nice to have that big match pressure,” Jin said. “Because there's a lot of pressure in a lot of situations [at Florida].”
Having played in such large tournaments, Cordova, Jefferson and Jin are able to take the pressure of high stakes moments at UF and handle them with great poise.
Florida will open its season in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Sept. 13.
Contact Carston Handy at chandy@alligator.org. Follow Carston on X @carston_handy.
Carston Handy is a junior journalism major with a focus in sports and media. Fall 2024 marks his first semester reporting sports with the Alligator. In his free time he enjoys spending time with his fiancé and their dog. He also enjoys playing a bunch of sports, including pickleball, basketball and soccer.
