Athletes with college ties are receiving high marks at the 2026 Australian Open

MELBOURNE, Australia — Spring semester has barely begun back in the United States, but the American college tennis system is already in midseason form, leaving its imprint on the Australian Open.

Two young Americans in the men’s draw with college ties, Ethan Quinn and Eliot Spizzirri, already ousted seeded players in their opening rounds. Another that reached the second round is still enrolled: Michael Zheng, the Columbia University senior who will return for his final term to complete his psychology degree.

Early tournament winners include one of Goldstein’s former charges, 239th-ranked Nishesh Basavareddy.

The 20-year-old left Stanford after his sophomore season and had been best known for taking a set off 24-time Grand Slam winner Novak Djokovic a year ago in Melbourne as a wild card. This year, he won three matches in qualifying, then defeated Christopher O’Connell of Australia in five sets to reach the second round at a major for the first time.

Basavareddy said he wasn’t fazed by the rowdy partisan hometown crowd when playing O’Connell, something he knows well from the college game.

“It's definitely still not comparable,” the Indiana-raised player said.

It wasn’t that long ago that top pros with college seasoning, or even degrees, such as James Blake (Harvard University), John Isner (University of Georgia) and Lisa Raymond (University of Florida), were viewed almost as novelties.

That perception was shaped in part by the great American male players of the 1990s. Michael Chang, Andre Agassi, Jim Courier and Pete Sampras all went straight to the professional ranks, reinforcing the idea that college tennis was a dead end. Or at least a tacit acknowledgment that a strong pro career was unlikely.

A generation of players also attempted the transition without being fully prepared physically or mentally for the increasing demands of tour life. Many crashed and burned, while others were sidelined by chronic injuries. (Notwithstanding, of course, the most successful male doubles team of all time, Bob and Mike Bryan, who spent four years on “the Farm” at Stanford.)

“It's kind of different than it was 20 years ago,” said the 6-foot-3 Quinn, who faces former Top 10 player Hubert Hurkacz of Poland in what should be a high-octane second round contest. “A lot of them were in my age group as well, which is really cool,” the Fresno, Calif., native added. “It's exciting.”

The college trend has been building for a while.

By the close of the 2025 season, 16 players touched by the U.S. college system from a range of countries ranked in the Top 100 of the ATP’s year-end rankings. They were led by the top-ranked American, Ben Shelton. Shelton won the 2022 NCAA singles title at Florida and is currently ranked No. 7.

Among those that benefitted from the program is former ITA No. 1 and Texas Longhorn Spizzirri.

“It’s a common sense collaboration between parties that we need more of in the sport,” Stanford’s Goldstein said.

NIL (name, image and likeness) regulations also permit college athletes to earn substantial endorsement income, but NCAA caps on prize money, usually set at $10,000 plus expenses, remain a sticking point.

That could affect Zheng, 21, who plans to return for his final semester despite earning roughly $150,000 by reaching the second round here. He suffered a likely adductor strain and lost by retirement Wednesday to No. 32 seed Corentin Moutet of France trailing 3-6, 6-1, 6-3, 2-0.

There is still room, of course, for players to move directly to the pros, a route forged by current Americans like Taylor Fritz, Amanda Anisimova and Madison Keys, all of whom have reached or won Grand Slam finals. 

Even so, the landscape has changed enough that even seasoned, successful pros look back and wonder—what if?

Tommy Paul, the 19th-seeded American who advanced to the third round Wednesday, said he “kinda wasted a couple of years after turning pro” following his 2015 French Open boys’ singles title.

“I tell everyone, if I were to do it again, I would have gone to school,” he said.

These days, more players are discovering that the classroom can be as valuable as the baseline.