Meet the rising American star handed a huge cash injection to boost his career
Danielle Collins, Mackenzie McDonald, Christopher Eubanks and Peyton Stearns are among the stand-out names to have benefited from the Universal Tennis Foundation Hurd Awards in recent years and now rising star Ethan Quinn has set his sights on tennis glory.
Continuing in the tradition started by Mark Hurd and Oracle, the Universal Tennis Foundation Hurd Awards are player grants made possible by a gift from the Hurd family. Grants of $100,00 each are awarded annually to assist a young American male and female player transitioning from college to professional competition.
Competing for the University of Georgia, Quinn won the 2023 NCAA singles tournament as a redshirt freshman. Quinn has played on the UTR Pro Tennis Tour, competing in Newport Beach back in 2021. He won his first ITF title in June last year and reached the final of an ATP Challenger last month. This week, he won two qualifying matches at the BNP Paribas Open to reach the main draw. The 19-year-old, who turned pro last summer, is currently ranked No. 254 on the ATP Tour.
Here, we speak to 20-year-old Quinn as he starts his journey towards what he hopes will be a successful career.
What was your reaction to learning you were selected for the award?
I was stunned. Honestly, when I got that first phone call I’d been kind of waiting to hear and when I finally got the phone calls at first I was actually I was like, man, I wonder who was calling me from California. When I finally answered I was happy I did. Immediately I called my mom. She was super, super pumped, and super thrilled to hear the news.
How will this grant help springboard your career?
It’ll be able to finance me to travel to tournaments like this one, be able to have world-class coaches and be able to train every single day in world-class environments. So that someday I can be playing this type of tournament every single year and every single week.
How does lessening the financial burden help you focus on tennis?
It makes it so much easier to be out there and compete and just focus on the tennis. There are a lot of guys who are competing just for an extra buck, an extra dollar, to hopefully pay for their McDonald’s meal that night at a tournament. So now that I don’t really have to focus on that type of thing, I can keep trying to just focus on the tennis and developing my game. It’ll be able to get me to this level quicker.
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What has your experience been like so far on the pro tour?
it’s been only a few months. It’s been incredible. This is a really big stepping stone for me here this week, qualified into my first ATP tournament. So it’s been an amazing experience getting to see everything that these professional guys are doing every single day. It makes me realize what I could do better and where I can improve, so that way I don’t fall short in those areas, and I can kind of build up my game as quickly as I can.
How different is an experience like playing the Indian Wells compared to college?
It was actually funny. My first- or second-round qualifying match made me really feel like I was back at the University of Georgia. The crowd was cheering for me. There were a lot of people barking and saying ‘Go Dawgs!’ on big points. So it really made me feel like I was back at the University of Georgia. But besides the crowd, it’s unbelievable. Playing in the United States, a lot of people root for you, especially as a young American coming up.
What was your college experience like and how did that help you?
It was an incredible experience. Just as you asked that question, I got a little bit of chills, thinking about just the matches and the environment that I got to play in. Every single day getting to step foot into the gym, the tennis center, and then having a legendary coach like Manny Diaz be there every single day was just a surreal experience.
I’m so thankful that I had that experience to look back on and now that I get to step into this new career path, it just motivates me to improve because I can then inspire other kids to go through the college route.
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How did you make the decision to turn pro?
My coaches actually were in my corner telling me they thought that my game had elevated enough throughout the college year, they felt that I improved so much that it would be super easy for me to develop at professional level. Having that confidence from them, and my college coaches believing in me — they said it’s the right choice for you. Having that support made it a really easy transition.
How did you get into tennis?
My mom. She played growing up until college. I lived about two blocks from a tennis club in Fresno, California, and every single day, I would ride my bike and watch my mom play tennis. I’d sit on the bench and I just watched her play doubles with her friends. Then that kind of led to my mom saying alright, every summer she’s like, you can go to the club for however long you want as long as you don’t leave the club. So then we just play tennis basically all day. I just built my love for the game and wanting to be on court at all times.
When did you realize you were good enough to play in college and maybe go pro?
Probably I’d say seventh grade is when I finally started focusing solely on tennis. I think my sophomore year, actually with COVID [happening], was really really good for me. It gave me the chance to work with Brad Stine every single day while everyone else was shut down and not able to play tournaments. I was actually getting to practice with my coach every single day. Having that really led me to be able to get recruited by these high-end schools and really have confidence in myself because I was playing so well.
Was UTR part of your experience as a junior or college?
It was during COVID. Actually, UTR were the only tournaments we were able to play. I took advantage of all the tournaments in Newport Beach. I played a lot of UTR events there, and that really springboarded my recruiting process. A lot of coaches saw how well I was doing in those events, and, obviously, they’re seeing how much I was willing to compete by playing week after week. It really helped me develop.
What do you think of UTR as a way to measure your development?
I think it’s a great tool. There are a lot of kids that, when I’m signing autographs or whatever, they’re like, ‘Hey, I’m an 11 UTR!’ and they ask me, ‘What can I do to get better?’ UTR gives you a good idea of where they’re at, so that way I can give them proper advice and what they can do better. Rather than saying like, oh, I’m like a high school player. I don’t really know exactly what level someone’s at, but the actual number gives me a good idea. That’s something I grew up on is knowing the exact number of wherever I was in juniors.
You played it in Newport Beach, so what do you think of the UTR Pro Tennis Tour?
I think the format was phenomenal for letting players get so many matches and the round-robin guarantees players three matches. A lot of times, in the ITF tournaments, you travel, possibly across the world, and you can only play one match if you lose first round. It’s a really tough scenario traveling across the world to play one match, lose, and if you’re going to the next week, it’s hard to set up practices and stay motivated when you’re having to look so far in advance. The round-robins give you the chance to play so many matches in a small period of time. And obviously having the incentive of, if you do better, you will make more money.
What are your plans for the rest of this year?
There are a few Challenger events in in the United States as well that I’ll be playing. But as of right now, I just need a few more wins and I’ll be into the qualifying of Grand Slams. So I set my eyes on that at the beginning of the year and I’m just on the edge.
Anything else you want to add?
Thank you, UTR! I really appreciate this phenomenal grant, this amazing opportunity to develop as a tennis player. I want to thank Paula Hurd, especially. She gave me that first phone call and I really appreciated that. I was very thankful and I look forward to making everyone at UTR proud.