By Stephanie Shields
TEMPE, Ariz -- It all began with a birthday gift. On his fourth birthday, the moment he held his first tennis racquet, an unstoppable passion arose. From practicing shots against a wall near his France childhood home, to top world rankings while in the French Tennis Federation, Baonoromadresy Rakotomalala, or Makey, is now in Arizona as a Sun Devil ready to help a recently reinstated Arizona State men's tennis program reach success.
After a long-awaited hiatus, the ASU's men's tennis hit the courts for the first season since 2008, when the program was discontinued. The Sun Devils' Makey, a Paris, France native, is one of eight international recruits on the nine-player roster. The transition to the United States began as an adjustment, but Makey, who actually loves the hot Arizona weather, continues to thrive as a powerhouse singles and doubles player for the Sun Devils.
Makey and first-year Sun Devils men's tennis coach Matt Hill needed each other. Hill required top players to put the new team together, and Makey needed an opportunity to build on his already aggressive skills.
"I think this program will put me on the road to go professional afterwards, and that's my goal, to play professionally after college, so it's the perfect program to play for," Makey said.
The sophomore came to ASU as a top five player in the world, but according to Hill, "the French Federation doesn't support athletes once they get to that age." Makey chose to enlist his trust in Hill for training, and to be part of a historic comeback team.
"He's been a huge leader for us on the court and in the locker room, he's very emotional on the court, very fun to watch for the fans, and I think that feeds a lot of energy to the other players," Hill said.
Makey is hailed the team funny guy who loves to sing and dance. On the court he will perform celebratory dances, and relates it to being part of his African culture, since his parents are from Madagascar, Africa. Makey's upbeat persona translates among the team and builds bonds with teammates, including his doubles partner senior Michaël Geerts.
"He's a very energetic guy on the court, and something that I really like is that he has very big ground strokes, and he likes to hit the ball hard," Geerts said. "He serves the ball really well so that makes my job at the net a little bit easier, so for my game I think he is the perfect doubles partner."
Geerts comes from Antwerp, Belgium, and finds that there are many similarities between him and his doubles partner off the court as well that makes their relationship so dynamic. Both are huge soccer fans and embrace their cultures' traditions such as eating at European style restaurants, such as Caffe Boba in Tempe.
"We're good friends too and that also makes it easier on the court to kind of fight for each other and be there for each other," Geerts said.
While Makey had no problem making friends coming to Arizona, some challenges stemmed from the struggle to learn how to speak English. From homeschooled to university classes with 300 or more students, Makey had a large adjustment to make, however, the marketing major prefers the large social setting of ASU classes.
"For me it was not easy because university was pretty new for me so I had to learn how to balance my time with tennis and school, but now I'm getting better with that. When I arrived in the States, all my friends were laughing at me because my English was so bad but now I'm getting better," Makey said with a grin.
The culture is new for Makey here in Arizona, with differences in foods, the style that studies are taught, and playing on a team with teammates from all over the world, but he embraces the diversity.
"I take advantage of both cultures, I take the good of the French and African culture and of course I take the good of American culture to be the best person possible," Makey said.
Although he's enjoyed his three semesters at ASU so far, he misses his family back home. His parents, who have not been to Arizona yet, plan to visit Makey to watch him play this season.
"It's very exciting, I love playing in front of my family, especially my mom because she has given me everything I have, and they give me the power and all the support for me to perform on the court," Makey said.
Family and his hometown roots are deeply integrated in Makey's heart. After his collegiate career, he aspires to win a Grand Slam, specifically the French Open, because it is played in his hometown Paris, and looks forward to share that moment with family and friends.
After hosting the ASU Invitational last weekend, the Sun Devils are 1-3 after an 0-3 start to the season after playing three of the top-ranked teams in the country. Makey, however, is not intimidated about the start, and looks to improve on his doubles play after he and Geerts lost their first three doubles matches to begin the season.
"Our start wasn't the best start on paper, it wasn't easy for us, our first college matches," Geerts said. "There were definitely things we had to work on, and it kind of sets the tone for the invitational tournament, but I think we have a good chance."
TEMPE, Ariz -- It all began with a birthday gift. On his fourth birthday, the moment he held his first tennis racquet, an unstoppable passion arose. From practicing shots against a wall near his France childhood home, to top world rankings while in the French Tennis Federation, Baonoromadresy Rakotomalala, or Makey, is now in Arizona as a Sun Devil ready to help a recently reinstated Arizona State men's tennis program reach success.
After a long-awaited hiatus, the ASU's men's tennis hit the courts for the first season since 2008, when the program was discontinued. The Sun Devils' Makey, a Paris, France native, is one of eight international recruits on the nine-player roster. The transition to the United States began as an adjustment, but Makey, who actually loves the hot Arizona weather, continues to thrive as a powerhouse singles and doubles player for the Sun Devils.
Makey and first-year Sun Devils men's tennis coach Matt Hill needed each other. Hill required top players to put the new team together, and Makey needed an opportunity to build on his already aggressive skills.
"I think this program will put me on the road to go professional afterwards, and that's my goal, to play professionally after college, so it's the perfect program to play for," Makey said.
The sophomore came to ASU as a top five player in the world, but according to Hill, "the French Federation doesn't support athletes once they get to that age." Makey chose to enlist his trust in Hill for training, and to be part of a historic comeback team.
"He's been a huge leader for us on the court and in the locker room, he's very emotional on the court, very fun to watch for the fans, and I think that feeds a lot of energy to the other players," Hill said.
Makey is hailed the team funny guy who loves to sing and dance. On the court he will perform celebratory dances, and relates it to being part of his African culture, since his parents are from Madagascar, Africa. Makey's upbeat persona translates among the team and builds bonds with teammates, including his doubles partner senior Michaël Geerts.
"He's a very energetic guy on the court, and something that I really like is that he has very big ground strokes, and he likes to hit the ball hard," Geerts said. "He serves the ball really well so that makes my job at the net a little bit easier, so for my game I think he is the perfect doubles partner."
Geerts comes from Antwerp, Belgium, and finds that there are many similarities between him and his doubles partner off the court as well that makes their relationship so dynamic. Both are huge soccer fans and embrace their cultures' traditions such as eating at European style restaurants, such as Caffe Boba in Tempe.
"We're good friends too and that also makes it easier on the court to kind of fight for each other and be there for each other," Geerts said.
While Makey had no problem making friends coming to Arizona, some challenges stemmed from the struggle to learn how to speak English. From homeschooled to university classes with 300 or more students, Makey had a large adjustment to make, however, the marketing major prefers the large social setting of ASU classes.
"For me it was not easy because university was pretty new for me so I had to learn how to balance my time with tennis and school, but now I'm getting better with that. When I arrived in the States, all my friends were laughing at me because my English was so bad but now I'm getting better," Makey said with a grin.
The culture is new for Makey here in Arizona, with differences in foods, the style that studies are taught, and playing on a team with teammates from all over the world, but he embraces the diversity.
"I take advantage of both cultures, I take the good of the French and African culture and of course I take the good of American culture to be the best person possible," Makey said.
Although he's enjoyed his three semesters at ASU so far, he misses his family back home. His parents, who have not been to Arizona yet, plan to visit Makey to watch him play this season.
"It's very exciting, I love playing in front of my family, especially my mom because she has given me everything I have, and they give me the power and all the support for me to perform on the court," Makey said.
Family and his hometown roots are deeply integrated in Makey's heart. After his collegiate career, he aspires to win a Grand Slam, specifically the French Open, because it is played in his hometown Paris, and looks forward to share that moment with family and friends.
After hosting the ASU Invitational last weekend, the Sun Devils are 1-3 after an 0-3 start to the season after playing three of the top-ranked teams in the country. Makey, however, is not intimidated about the start, and looks to improve on his doubles play after he and Geerts lost their first three doubles matches to begin the season.
"Our start wasn't the best start on paper, it wasn't easy for us, our first college matches," Geerts said. "There were definitely things we had to work on, and it kind of sets the tone for the invitational tournament, but I think we have a good chance."