According to the NCAA, men's tennis is the only sport where there are more international players than national. Women's tennis has more American players, but it is the closest to internationals with only a difference of 201 players. In the rest of the sports, the majority of college athletes are American. 

Tennis is a very international sport and the importance of the sport that is given in other countries is considerably bigger than the importance here in the United States. In the United States, football, basketball, and baseball are the most popular sports and they are given a lot of importance. In Spain, soccer, tennis, and basketball are the most important sports. Thus, tennis importance and participation in the sport are very high around Spain. The same happens in other Spanish speaking countries related to tennis. 

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With this in mind, it's important to note that successful tennis teams have at least one or more international athletes on the roster. Here's how you can get recruited in tennis, whether you are a domestic or international athlete.

Gain Exposure

For international players, the best way to get exposure from coaches in the United States is to play ITFs Junior and the Pro Tour. This way the player can get ITF ranking or ATP/WTA points and also UTR ranking. It is important to know that in tennis, prospective college athletes are allowed to accept up to $10,000 per year in prize money. If a player in any given year has accepted more than $10,000, this player can still accept money as long as it doesn't surpass the expenses.

Make a Highlight Tape

An important part of the recruiting process for Americans and internationals is creating a highlight video. This video can show the basic strokes of the player, as well as volleys,  serves and match play. The idea of the video is to be as realistic as possible even though it is a highlight video. This video can be uploaded to YouTube and coaches will see it. 

Related: 5 Tips to Make a Tennis Highlight Video

Show Off!

In America as well as in some international countries, coaches like to attend tennis showcases. Competing in these events is also a good way to get exposure to college tennis coaches. In these showcases, usually, the players play matches against other potential college athletes and coaches can see how the players perform under the pressure of being observed by coaches trying to judge their ability. 

Use Technology

For international players, another key element is the way the players communicate via video call. Almost all the coaches are looking forward to speaking with the potential recruit to see how they communicate and how they react to the questions the coaches are asking. The coaches not only look for information about the player and answer the questions they ask but also, they look for reactions, emotions and how they might react to different situations. 

Make it Official

For American players, video calls are also important for the same reason. But since the proximity between the athletes and the coaches is a lot smaller than the international players, American athletes get more opportunities with in-person contact with the coaches like official visits and unofficial visits. Official visits are the visits of the potential college athletes to campus that are completely paid by the school the player is visiting. The official visits include transportation to and from the school, three meals per day, three ticket events for any sporting event on campus and a place to stay for the prospective student-athletes as well as for their parents or guardians. Unofficial visits are the visits that the prospective athlete may attend where s/he is in charge of all the costs of the visit except that he or she can receive three tickets to a home sporting event from the school he is visiting. International players sometimes do official visits as well as the American players, but this only happens in Division 1 schools that have a large budget.

Related: 4 Red Flags to Look Out for on Official Visits

Be Well-Rounded

Recruiting a tennis athlete is not only about how they play and how they compete. It is also about how the player is outside the court. Personality plays a huge role in this. Franklin Pierce University head coach Peter Arsenault says: “I always tell recruits that I'd much prefer to recruit players with heart, character, and an incredible work ethic than a player who on paper has more achievements and accomplishments.”

In short, be sure to use all of your resources as a recruit–video chat, official visits, and whatever other elements of the recruiting process work for you. And embrace the international reach of college tennis–international athletes bring a lot to the table and both domestic and international athletes can learn a lot from each other. 

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* Originally published on December 14, 2022, by Alejandra Barcelo-Almoyna