Men's tennis develops skills in Europe

PROVO, Utah—The BYU men’s tennis team returned from a two-week foreign tour to Europe where they were able to train and visit some of the historical sites.

The Cougars visited Paris, Venice, Rome and Barcelona on this trip. They played tennis at professional venues and trained with professional players, along with visiting local attractions after their training sessions.

Playing tennis at Roland Garros, where the French Open is played every year, was the highlight of the trip for the team.

“On our first day in Europe, we were able to hit at Roland Garros,” assistant coach Brett Bernstein said. “It was an incredible experience to play on a site where a Grand Slam tennis event takes place. The boys were excited to be there and play. It was a great way to start the trip.

The team later played at the Olympic Park in Rome, which is where the ATP Italian Open is held every year. They also had the opportunity to play at Barcelona’s Sanchez-Cabal Academy, where some of the professional tennis players from Spain train.

BYU practied in the mornings with professional tennis players and their coaches in Barcelona for a week. Towards the end of the week, they played matches with the professionals.

In unofficial results, the Cougars split the matches with the players.

“The boys represented BYU really well on this trip,” Bernstein said. We were happy with the results. We broke even with the professional players, which is difficult to do on clay courts, because we don’t play on that surface.”

Although the trip was a mix of fun and play, the coaches were pleased with the team’s development.

“At the end of the two weeks, the boys looked liked they had developed their points quickly and that they had become more patient with their shots,” Bernstein said. All of the guys felt like their games have improved and coach Pearce and I were happy with the trip.”

The BYU men’s tennis team will be releasing their 2015-2016 schedule in the coming weeks.