A Year Later: A Look at Dominik Koepfer’s First Year in the Pros

NEW ORLEANS – One of the most decorated student-athletes in Tulane men's tennis history, 2016 graduate Dominik Koepfer carried his success from the courts at the City Park Pepsi Tennis Center to all over the world as a professional tennis player. Tulane Athletics recently caught up with Koepfer to reflect back on his first year as a pro.

Back in 2015-16, Koepfer saved his best season for last, reaching three straight semifinals or better at the three major fall national championships, before becoming Tulane's first national champion since 1955 when he took home the ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championship.

"It was the first big title I've ever won," Koepfer explained. "I'd come so close the few tournaments before. The win really gave me a push moving forward and that knowledge that I can close it out and have those big moments."

Koepfer was the No. 1 ranked singles player in the country for three months in the spring of 2016, ultimately earning All-American honors along with the ITA National Men's Senior Player of the Year award. However, what Koepfer was most proud of was the team effort and accomplishments, as 2016 also marked the first time the Green Wave booked their ticket to the NCAA Tournament in the post-Katrina era.

"The team started to believe that we could compete at the same level of the top tier teams and that we could beat any team in the nation," Koepfer said. "Before we let our opponents take it to us in the crucial moments, but by my senior year, the team's belief backed our play."

When the time came for Koepfer to hang up his Olive and Blue jersey he finished second all-time in career singles wins (103), singles winning percentage (.780), overall wins (171) and third in career doubles wins (68) and overall winning percentage (.734).

So with diploma in hand and his collegiate days behind him, Koepfer packed his bags for Tampa where he began training at Saddlebrook under new coach Christopher Williams, conjunctly aligning himself with Add Two Performance – a company/program designed to elevate three different aspects of a tennis player: physical, mental and emotional.

With the foundation now set, Koepfer began touring the country with Coach Williams competing in various ITF Futures tournaments. However, Koepfer noted right away the struggle of finding the rhythm of a new routine that was much different than the lifestyle accustomed to on the Uptown campus.

"Right now all I do is play tennis and worry about that. It's just a different daily routine," Koepfer explained. "You put a lot of pressure on yourself. If you don't play well that day then that can be stressful and you can get negative on yourself. In school, it wasn't just tennis, there were so many other distractions and support systems like my teammates.

"Now's its practice and train for a few hours then figure out what to do in your down time so it's very one-dimensional. Sometimes I have to find ways to keep busy."

What are some of those ways a recent grad stays busy on the road you may wonder?

"Right now, I am working on a puzzle, doing some reading and sight-seeing in Chicago. Just getting away from the tennis courts," Koepfer said.

Yet, back on the courts, Koepfer has had a meteoric rise in his first year in the professional ranks, going from being ranked outside the top-1700 in the world to a career high ranking of 346.

In fact, Koepfer's most memorable win this past year occurred back in his home country of Germany when he earned his first top-100 win by defeating No. 91 Nicolas Kicker at the Heilbronn Challenger.

"I always knew I could beat one of those guys but it goes back to getting that belief," Koepfer stated. "Once you get that on the court, all that matters then is the tennis. It was so much fun playing that match in front of my family and friends, and it was definitely a big step in the right direction."

Along with his top-350 world ranking and first top-100 ranked win, Koepfer picked up two singles titles via the F9 Futures in Orlando in February and the F32 Futures in Harlingen, Texas, last October, and a doubles crown at the F27 Futures in Champaign last fall as well.

With year two in the pros now in full swing, new goals and expectations have been set for Koepfer and his ever-vigilant and determined mentality. Goals that potentially could showcase a little Olive and Green in the land down under.

"By the end of the year, I want to be ranked inside the top-250 and make the Australian Open qualifiers," Koepfer concluded.

Tulane University Athletics

A Year Later: A Look at Dominik Koepfer’s First Year in the Pros

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