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Krawczyk Represents Sun Devils With Pride, Winning On The Big Stages In Tennis

Krawczyk Represents Sun Devils With Pride, Winning On The Big Stages In TennisKrawczyk Represents Sun Devils With Pride, Winning On The Big Stages In Tennis

For Sun Devil alumnus Desirae Krawczyk, class of 2016, her introduction to the sport of tennis came at an early age.

Krawczyk’s father would bring her along to matches at his club in her hometown of Palm Desert, California. Soon, her own affinity for the sport started to take hold.

“I just followed him around and started taking lessons,” Krawczyk said. “I got my first racket when I was young and started playing at local events in the valley.”

Along with Krawczyk competing locally, another factor that contributed to her infatuation with the sport was volunteering at one of the biggest tournaments in the world: the Indian Wells Masters.

“I spent two weeks every year being a ‘ball kid’ for that tournament and interacting with all these top players,” Krawczyk said. “As a young kid, it was a dream to do. Being on the court with these top players, it was exciting. You're like, ‘Wow, I want to do what they do.’”

Now, she is doing exactly that.

Krawczyk is currently ranked No. 16 in the world in doubles in the Women’s Tennis Association and just had one of the most successful seasons of her young career.

In July 2022, Krawczyk achieved her highest career ranking in the world at No. 10 and currently has amassed seven doubles titles, according to the WTA website. She’s a four-time mixed Grand Slam champion, including a recent win at Wimbledon in July, where she also reached the Women's Doubles semifinal alongside Danielle Collins. Krawczyk was vying to become the first person to win two titles at the same Wimbledon since Serena Williams in 2016 (singles and doubles).

Despite her success thus far professionally, Krawczyk did not take any time to smell the flowers during the season. Instead, she looked ahead to the tournaments that followed, playing both women’s doubles and mixed doubles competitions. 

Evidently, that worked to her benefit.

“I did really well. I won three grand slams, which I couldn't even believe,” Krawczyk said. “But I think for me, I didn't even really evaluate what I did last year. It kind of was just, ‘Okay, next tournament. We go to the next tournament.’ And you just keep going until you hit the offseason and you reflect on everything you've done.”

Before she took on the sport professionally, Krawczyk knew where she could go with the sport early on.

“I think I knew I could play division one since I was a freshman in high school,” Krawczyk said. “I didn't really think about it. It was kind of just expected of me.”

It is safe to say that she fulfilled those expectations and then exceeded them. When it came to Krawczyk’s college search, the California native wanted to get out of her comfort zone.

“I didn't want to be somewhere too close to home. USC or UCLA was just too close. So I kind of went off recommendations,” Krawczyk said. “I had spoken to a coach who told me once ‘If I had a daughter, I would send her to Sheila Mac.” 

“Sheila Mac” is Sheila McInerney. A former professional tennis player, a four-time All-American for USC’s women’s tennis team, and the Sun Devils women’s tennis head coach since 1985.

“ASU was recruiting me and I wanted to stay on the west coast, I didn't want to go to the east coast. I'm not a fan of the cold,” Krawczyk admitted. “Arizona was about a four-hour drive. So it was close, but a little bit further away [from California]. It was a good distance and I really enjoyed the campus.” 

Ultimately, Krawczyk decided to take her talents across the desert to Tempe and compete for the Sun Devils.

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Once Krawczyk arrived, she and McInerney began to develop a very successful connection, one that has continued into her professional career.  

“I have such a great relationship with her even to this day,” Krawczyk said. “She supported me on tour and at my tournaments when she could come. It's just great to have that relationship. I don't feel like a lot of players have that relationship with their college coaches, or may not want to. But I'm just grateful that I have that bond with her.”

When it comes to the contrast between life as a college athlete and a professional athlete, Krawczyk pointed to the lack of financial opportunities for college athletes at the time.

“When I was in college, you weren't making any money. Now it's different,” Krawczyk said. “I think you have such a short timeframe to be a professional athlete in tennis. You want to make the most of it and you want to do everything you can, whether it's nutrition or getting the right amount of sleep. You're doing the fitness and the training and the mental strengthening. I think there's a lot that goes into that (being a professional athlete) and you have a different mindset.”

That different mindset is currently being employed, as Krawczyk is in her offseason. Given the little amount of free time that she gets, she is currently taking the opportunity to decompress before jumping back into her preparations.

“I think right now it's just for me just kind of stepping away and not looking at rackets,” Krawczyk said. “Working on myself and doing things that I enjoy that I wouldn't be able to do when I'm on the road. And find that happiness to recharge, and then go again.”

When it comes to aspiring student-athletes in the position that Krawczyk once was, she offered advice.

“If you've got that mindset of, ‘Hey, I want to go pro,’ you're going to do things to help you achieve and give you an edge,” Krawczyk said. “I think if you have that mindset, it just kind of comes into play naturally. You have mental toughness for that. If your coaches know what your goals are, they're going to help you achieve those goals and it places you one step closer to what you want to do in that pro career.”

Krawczyk begins her preparations for the upcoming season soon, as the WTA will start its season when the United Cup gets underway December 29.

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