New Journey, Same Mindset: Eubanks Turns Pro

Christopher Eubanks burst onto the ATP World Tour in July when he advanced to the quarter-finals of the BB&T Atlanta Open, claiming his first two tour-level victories. He then qualified for the Masters 1000 event in Cincinnati, beating World No. 69 Janko Tipsarevic — a candidate for Comeback Player of the Year in the 2017 ATP World Tour Awards Presented by Moët & Chandon — to earn a spot in the main draw, where he lost in three sets. Thanks to his efforts, he received a wild card into the US Open.

The thing is, Eubanks was still a college tennis player, having recently completed his junior year at Georgia Tech. There, he became the fifth player in Atlantic Coast Conference history to garner ACC Player of the Year honours two years in a row. But after already taking what would have been the first semester of his senior year off, Eubanks announced on 23 October that he would forego his final year of college eligibility and begin his journey as a professional tennis player. The 21-year-old is playing his first event since the decision this week at the Charlottesville Men’s Pro Challenger in Virginia, and will play the U.S. indoor swing that also includes Knoxville and Champaign, where he reached the semi-finals last year in just his second Challenger event.

“It was extremely difficult. It was a long process. It involved me kind of looking at myself and asking myself mentally, ‘Do I think I’m mature enough? Do I think I’m ready to tackle this as a job?’” Eubanks said. “I think I made the right decision for me and look forward to seeing what happens because of it.”

Eubanks consulted fellow Americans in the pro ranks — including Donald Young, former Georgia Tech student-athlete Kevin King, Steve Johnson and Ryan Harrison — for advice. Their words boiled down into similar advice.

“You have to do what you think is best for you. You can’t make a decision for other people. You can’t make a decision to please other people. You have to do what you think is going to make you happy and do what you think is the best for you and your career,” Eubanks said of what he was told. “If I felt like I was ready and I’m ready to tackle this as a job then make the jump. If there’s any type of hesitation, there’s nothing wrong with going back to college for another year.”

Now, tennis is Eubanks’ job. But he says that he doesn’t have to change much.

“I just try to continue the mindset that I’ve had all summer and continue the progression I’ve been on,” Eubanks said of consistently improving. “I think I’m on a pretty good progression and I think it would be foolish to change something that I’ve been doing when it’s been working pretty well.”

To continue trending upward, Eubanks has been taking different weeks to go to train at the USTA National Campus in Lake Nona, Florida, with USTA coach Troy Hahn. Other players practising there include Bjorn Fratangelo, Tommy Paul, Reilly Opelka and Mackenzie McDonald. Currently No. 308 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, Eubanks will have to work his way through the ATP Challenger Tour to climb up the professional ladder. And while he has only played four Challengers, the level of event does not phase him.

“I still try look at it as it’s still tennis. It’s still a tennis match. It’s still the same thing I’ve been doing since I was two years old,” Eubanks said. “So I don’t think that having a different mindset going into a Challenger, going into a 250 or a 500 or a Grand Slam, I don’t think it should change. It’s important to keep the same mindset I’ve had, which is treating every match like it’s the last one. Treating every match like it’s a tournament final.”

After beating the likes of Next Gen ATP Finals qualifier Jared Donaldson and #NextGenATP Taylor Fritz in Atlanta, as well as Tipsarevic in Cincinnati, there was no change in what Eubanks thought he can do. His mind is only set on doing one thing every day.

“Just continue to get better,” said Eubanks, who added he is committed to doing whatever he can to maximize his potential. “[Just] trying to be a better player as time goes on than I was previously. That’s probably the biggest goal I have and if I can continue that, I think some pretty cool things can happen.”

Eubanks kicks off his professional career on Tuesday against Christian Harrison in his Charlottesville opener. The pair teamed up to beat veterans Mikhail Youzhny and Mischa Zverev at the US Open.