Meet Kobe Tran

PROVO, Utah – Kobe Tran’s return to BYU men’s tennis this season was delayed by a foot injury, but he still enjoyed being around the team and the sport he loves. Learn more about Tran, including his time at BYU and his plans for the future.

Youth Tennis

Tran’s father played tennis, including a brief career at UC Davis, and introduced his son to the sport. The younger Tran started playing when he was four years old and quickly realized he had a gift for tennis. As Tran grew, he pursued competitive options, including his prep career at James Logan High School in his hometown of Union City, California.

Tran amassed a 55-4 record during his four-year varsity career, winning a singles section championship and finishing as a four-star, top-100 recruit. But he says his time spent with his teammates was more important than any individual success he earned.

“My favorite memory from high school was being with my teammates,” he explains. “I loved winning titles and matches together. It was not about whether I would win or lose. As long as I was with the guys, I was enjoying myself.”

Choosing BYU

“Being able to replicate those feelings in college made me feel at home, even though I was away from home,” Tran adds. He also picked BYU for his college career because he liked that Utah was far enough from California for him to be independent, but close enough to still visit family when he wanted to.

Tran joined the team ahead of the 2018-19 season, where he went 8-3 in singles and 2-1 in doubles as a freshman. He also competed in the fall portion of the 2019-20 season.

Making His Return

After taking a break from tennis, Tran rejoined the team for the bulk of the 2022-23 season, which he was expecting to play in. Unfortunately, a foot injury that required surgery delayed his comeback and prevented Tran from making any appearances this year. But despite the setback, Tran still loved this past season.

“Having the chance to come back was a great feeling. I definitely cherished it,” he says. “And then the injury is not something that I wanted to happen, but at the end of the day I cannot control certain things. I just tried to focus on school and doing really well last semester. I am super happy with the way things turned out even though I did not get to play.”

Looking Ahead

Tran will appreciate every moment he gets on the court once the time comes, and he is not planning on being done with tennis whenever his playing career ends. He is set to graduate in 2024 with a bachelor’s degree in psychology. One future career Tran has considered is coaching, since he loves that aspect of the game, especially when he has the opportunity to work with kids.