BLACK HISTORY MONTH PROFILE: ANDREW FENTY

In celebration of Black History Month, USTA.com is taking a look at several talented, young African-American players who are following in the footsteps of pioneering players like Althea Gibson, Arthur Ashe and the Williams sisters and seem ready to make their own mark in tennis. Here is a look at Andrew Fenty.

Andrew Fenty is a talented teenage player from Washington, D.C., who will be graduating to the collegiate game when he goes to the University of Michigan later this year. He has won several singles and doubles titles over his junior career, and he is currently at a career-high ITF World Junior Ranking of No. 9.

Age: 17
Height: 6-3
Residence: Washington, D.C.
Current Junior Rank: 9
 

• Fenty started playing tennis when he was 4 years old and is currently the second-highest ranked American boy in the world junior rankings behind only Sebastian Korda. He is currently ranked a career-high No. 9.
• Fenty, who turns 18 next month, got his first taste of Grand Slam tennis last year. In singles, he played in the boys' main draw at the US Open in August and the qualifying draw at Roland Garros last spring. He also reached the boys' doubles quarterfinals at Wimbledon in July, with Yshai Oliel of Israel. Last month, he competed in the junior draw at the Australian Open for the first time.
• The teenager won the Pan American ITF Championship in Tulsa, Okla., in October. His other junior titles include the Copa Universidad Galileo in Guatemala City, Guatemala, last February; the El Salvador ITF Juniors title in La Libertad, El Salvador, in 2016; and the Tihta Aruba title in Noord, Aruba, in 2015.
• In October, Fenty gave a verbal commitment to attend the University of Michigan in fall 2018. The Wolverines’ associate head coach, Sean Maymi, previously coached Fenty for six months at the Junior Tennis Champions Center (JTCC) in College Park, Md. The JTCC has been a hotbed for producing talented young Americans over the past few years. Frances Tiafoe, Denis Kudla and Usue Arconada have all came through the facility, and Fenty, whose twin brother Matthew also plays tennis, says he is constantly learning from pros, like Tiafoe, when they return to the center.
• Andrew’s father Adrian served one term as the mayor of Washington, D.C. from 2007-11. Fenty’s paternal grandmother is Italian-American, and his paternal grandfather has roots in Barbados and Panama. His mother was born and raised in London to Jamaican parents.