By: Craig Morgan
TEMPE, Ariz. -- Lauryn John-Baptiste was already set on attending an American school when Sun Devils assistant coach Matt Langley showed up to watch her play a tournament in London's suburban district of Roehampton, England in the summer of 2016.
John-Baptiste had been to the United States a handful of times, several of her friends attend American universities and she had played in the prestigious Junior Orange Bowl tournament in south Florida, an event that has featured the biggest names in tennis over the years including legends Chris Evert, Jimmy Connors, Monica Seles, Andre Agassi, Steffi Graf, and current tour players Caroline Wozniacki, Genie Bouchard, Maria Sharapova, Sloane Stevens, Roger Federer, Juan Martin del Potro, Kei Nishikori, and Andy Murray.
"Matt does most of the international recruiting while I do most of the domestic recruiting and he had also seen Lauryn play at Junior Wimbledon," Sun Devils coach Sheila McInerney said. "What we saw is a player who moves well along the court, has a very good serve and forehand and probably had a better all-around game than a lot of the junior players we'd seen."
The Sun Devils were convinced quickly that John-Baptiste could impact the program. John-Baptiste was convinced quickly that ASU could impact her.
"I think straightaway, Matt's personality really drew my attention," she said. "He was a really nice guy, but he seemed very interested in me both as a player and as a person. I did my own research, but he showed me the facilities and told me what ASU was about and it really helped me to think 'this is going to be good for me.'"
John-Baptiste, whose last name derives from her Dominica-born grandparents, first picked up a racket at age 3. Her sister, Simone, is six years older and played in tournaments, while Lauryn would play with her parents in a nearby park.
Her school introduced the sport and she excelled in juniors, leading her to attend the West Hants Tennis Academy in Bournemouth in the south of England at age 11. The year before she came to ASU, she trained at the Gosling Tennis Academy in Hertfordshire.
"My game style is different from a typical girl's game style," she said. "I can go spin or I can hit it flat. I also like coming into the net so that mixes it up a bit. I think it was just a natural development. When I was young, I always used to come into the net a lot and that's something I am working on to do more."
The right-handed John-Baptiste suffered a right wrist injury in February while playing three long matches in a tournament in England. The injury forced her to rehab for six months without playing, other than to hit balls softly with younger players.
"It probably slowed her development coming into school because we took it easy with her," McInerney said. "Developmentally, she's probably feeling a little rusty but within a couple months now she has really improved."
The Sun Devils have only played a handful of matches, but John-Baptiste is 4-2 in singles play and 5-2 in doubles; 4-1 paired with her regular partner Saša Klanecek.
The Sun Devils staff already knows what they have in John-Baptiste's forehand, serve and athleticism, but they been working on her backhand.
"I'm just aiming for it to be a solid groundstroke where I can consistently place it in a spot on the court," she said. "That would hopefully give me a short ball and then take the forehand off that. I'm trying to get behind the backhand so I am in position, and so I've got a good balance where I can get more power."
McInerney said there are other tweaks occurring that will make John-Baptiste a more complete player.
"She's always been a good athlete and moved well on the court but once they get to college, with the on-court coaching, I think they learn how to play tennis a little better," McInerney said. "I think she's learning how to play a little more tactically and strategically and we want her to use her athleticism aggressively.
"Sometimes, athletic players use their movement to run balls down and play defense. You always want to move and get balls back and stay in points but we also want her to make sure she's using her speed and athleticism in an offensive way. I don't know that any women or guys in this day and age of tennis are ever going to be serve-and-volley-ers but we're trying to get her to come forward more."
While the on-court transition continues, John-Baptiste said the transition off the court to life as a Sun Devil has been smooth ever since she got past the shock of the August heat. She is rooming with Sun Devils golfer Raquel Olmos Ros, and the two have become fast friends.
"I'm quite shocked at how well I have settled in," she said. "I'm around a lot of great people, which has helped a lot, and it's a great school and I have great coaches. I'm really excited for the next four years."
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TEMPE, Ariz. -- Lauryn John-Baptiste was already set on attending an American school when Sun Devils assistant coach Matt Langley showed up to watch her play a tournament in London's suburban district of Roehampton, England in the summer of 2016.
John-Baptiste had been to the United States a handful of times, several of her friends attend American universities and she had played in the prestigious Junior Orange Bowl tournament in south Florida, an event that has featured the biggest names in tennis over the years including legends Chris Evert, Jimmy Connors, Monica Seles, Andre Agassi, Steffi Graf, and current tour players Caroline Wozniacki, Genie Bouchard, Maria Sharapova, Sloane Stevens, Roger Federer, Juan Martin del Potro, Kei Nishikori, and Andy Murray.
"Matt does most of the international recruiting while I do most of the domestic recruiting and he had also seen Lauryn play at Junior Wimbledon," Sun Devils coach Sheila McInerney said. "What we saw is a player who moves well along the court, has a very good serve and forehand and probably had a better all-around game than a lot of the junior players we'd seen."
The Sun Devils were convinced quickly that John-Baptiste could impact the program. John-Baptiste was convinced quickly that ASU could impact her.
"I think straightaway, Matt's personality really drew my attention," she said. "He was a really nice guy, but he seemed very interested in me both as a player and as a person. I did my own research, but he showed me the facilities and told me what ASU was about and it really helped me to think 'this is going to be good for me.'"
John-Baptiste, whose last name derives from her Dominica-born grandparents, first picked up a racket at age 3. Her sister, Simone, is six years older and played in tournaments, while Lauryn would play with her parents in a nearby park.
Her school introduced the sport and she excelled in juniors, leading her to attend the West Hants Tennis Academy in Bournemouth in the south of England at age 11. The year before she came to ASU, she trained at the Gosling Tennis Academy in Hertfordshire.
"My game style is different from a typical girl's game style," she said. "I can go spin or I can hit it flat. I also like coming into the net so that mixes it up a bit. I think it was just a natural development. When I was young, I always used to come into the net a lot and that's something I am working on to do more."
The right-handed John-Baptiste suffered a right wrist injury in February while playing three long matches in a tournament in England. The injury forced her to rehab for six months without playing, other than to hit balls softly with younger players.
"It probably slowed her development coming into school because we took it easy with her," McInerney said. "Developmentally, she's probably feeling a little rusty but within a couple months now she has really improved."
The Sun Devils have only played a handful of matches, but John-Baptiste is 4-2 in singles play and 5-2 in doubles; 4-1 paired with her regular partner Saša Klanecek.
The Sun Devils staff already knows what they have in John-Baptiste's forehand, serve and athleticism, but they been working on her backhand.
"I'm just aiming for it to be a solid groundstroke where I can consistently place it in a spot on the court," she said. "That would hopefully give me a short ball and then take the forehand off that. I'm trying to get behind the backhand so I am in position, and so I've got a good balance where I can get more power."
McInerney said there are other tweaks occurring that will make John-Baptiste a more complete player.
"She's always been a good athlete and moved well on the court but once they get to college, with the on-court coaching, I think they learn how to play tennis a little better," McInerney said. "I think she's learning how to play a little more tactically and strategically and we want her to use her athleticism aggressively.
"Sometimes, athletic players use their movement to run balls down and play defense. You always want to move and get balls back and stay in points but we also want her to make sure she's using her speed and athleticism in an offensive way. I don't know that any women or guys in this day and age of tennis are ever going to be serve-and-volley-ers but we're trying to get her to come forward more."
While the on-court transition continues, John-Baptiste said the transition off the court to life as a Sun Devil has been smooth ever since she got past the shock of the August heat. She is rooming with Sun Devils golfer Raquel Olmos Ros, and the two have become fast friends.
"I'm quite shocked at how well I have settled in," she said. "I'm around a lot of great people, which has helped a lot, and it's a great school and I have great coaches. I'm really excited for the next four years."
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