The hits kept coming

Playing collegiate tennis was a dream; it turned into a nightmare.

BY VIVI ÁBRAHÁM

My journey into collegiate tennis began with a phone call in April 2018. I remember it clearly: I was on a walk along the Seine River in Paris, where I was visiting my brother. The voice on the other end was then-Mizzou Tennis Coach Colt Gaston — he was offering me a scholarship and a spot on the tennis team. It was everything I had hoped for, even though

I knew it was going to be bittersweet. I’m from Hungary, so attending MU meant moving over 5,000 miles away. However, the scholarship would give me the chance to play the sport I love and pursue a newfound interest in strategic communications.

After a scout saw me play at a tournament, I went on a recruitment visit to MU in March 2018, which was also my first time in America. I quickly fell in love with the gorgeous campus and athletic facilities. I’d done research during the recruiting process and made dozens of phone calls to ensure I was making the right choice. But college visits are quick — by NCAA rules, only two days.

Originally from Hungary, Vivi Ábrahám has been playing tennis since the age of 6. She was recruited to play tennis at MU in 2018.

I hadn’t known Mizzou is the only SEC tennis team without a men’s team, and that MU’s Green Tennis Center has only four indoor tennis courts for a team of eight players, which makes it impossible for all six singles players to play at the same time during matches. More importantly, I didn’t know there was an ongoing conflict on the team that would soon lead to the head coach resigning and multiple players leaving.

Those were the first cracks in the perfect picture that was portrayed during my two-day recruitment visit. I was an international student far from home, and I wasn’t sure who I could trust or turn to. And I’d only been in America for a few days.

Who watches out for the players?

The power balance in college sports is tipped toward coaches over student athletes. Although the NCAA was founded in 1906 as an organization to protect college athletes, there are no NCAA penalties governing coaches’ behavior around issues like player injuries, according to an August 2019 The Washington Post article Former NCAA investigator Tim Nevius says he believes the system doesn’t do enough to protect athletes.

I can agree with that. I could have used more support.

My freshman year was a period of discovering my physical and mental limits. Every day was something new: tennis drills, conditioning exercises, taking lecture notes in a foreign language or simply adjusting to the new environment. A few players had recently transferred away, and the tension between the team and the coach was palpable. There were daily conflicts and stress in the tennis facility. In a November 2020 Missourian op-ed, a parent of a player described Gaston’s coaching style as “fear-based,” saying he pitted players against each other, questioned injuries and threatened them with losing their scholarships. head coach. He assured me that the negative things that happened in my first two years wouldn’t happen again. The sparks of love I had for tennis as a child were rekindled, and I looked forward to the end of the pandemic so I could return to MU and pursue my tennis dreams.

Even with all of the challenges, I ended my first year feeling proud of my performance on the court. I’d started the season with a seven-match winning streak and finished with wins in singles and doubles matches in the SEC, one of the best leagues in women’s tennis. I believed this was just the start for me, which made me excited for the next season and my sophomore year.

An uncertain future

While in recovery for her injuries, Ábrahám played one season before first the pandemic and then injuries sidelined her for two seasons. She continued to attend home matches to cheer on the team.

That season started well, and I moved up to the spot of No. 2 player.

But the pandemic put an end to that. Spring sports were canceled, and I was on a flight back home to Hungary.

In April 2020, Gaston resigned. According to the athletic department’s press release, his official reason for leaving was “to pursue other opportunities.” However, his tenure hadn’t been successful. Nine players left the program under his coaching, either by transferring to other schools or quitting tennis altogether, as reported by the Missourian in April 2020.

Chris Wootton became the interim

That spring, with tennis facilities closed and not knowing how long I’d be home in Hungary, I started to run every day. Casual running quickly turned into challenging myself with sprints. After I talked to him about my running, Wootton even connected me with the MU track coach to become a dual athlete. However, toward the end of summer, I started to feel pain in my right foot — a stress fracture. I was devastated.

In early September, after returning to Columbia, I had two screws surgically placed in my foot. Doctors and trainers told me it would be a long rehabilitation. I continued strength training in a seated position and went to physical therapy six days a week. Then, less than a month after the surgery, I dislocated my shoulder during a strength exercise. It took four months for me to convince doctors to do an MRI, and when they did, it showed I had torn my labrum and needed surgery. My right arm was in a sling for six weeks. The injuries meant I could not compete my junior year, but I was there for home matches to cheer on my team.

Wootton no longer showed interest in me. He did not contact me after my surgeries or during my recovery. At the end of my junior year, he asked me if I wanted to transfer to another school. It seemed he wanted his “own” players on the team instead of ones he inherited from Gaston. It was such a change from his reassuring words a year earlier.

Progress gained, then lost

By this point, I had been out of action for nearly a year. According to the recovery timeline, I’d be able to start hitting balls again in mid-June. I was in great shape. I’d been working out regularly and going to physical therapy. When the Columbia doctor cleared me to start playing tennis for 15 minutes at a time, I was bursting with happiness.

But in July, Wootton and then-Athletic Director Andy Humes asked to meet with me. They offered me a deal: I would voluntarily leave the team, giving me the freedom to work on tennis on my own — Wootton said to improve my chances of playing collegiately in graduate school — while also doing track. They told me that according to NCAA rules, a player recruited on scholarship for one coach can decide to leave the team if a new coach is hired.

I told Wootton that I wanted stay on the team, even though he was saying I’d be sitting on the bench. I had been playing this sport since I was 6 years old. I didn’t want to stop competing now.

The next morning, he asked for an in-person meeting, and we met at the courts 30 minutes later. He told me about the flip side of that NCAA rule, which allowed a new head coach to remove players from the roster, and that’s what he was doing. This was the first time he’d ever mentioned that rule.

It was the start of my senior year, and I was off the team.

Wootton soon removed my things from the locker room, placed them in a black trash bag and told me to pick them up at the front door of the tennis facility. Later, I learned that a player from South Carolina would be my replacement. She’d committed to the team in June, long before discussions about me leaving the team. I never even had a chance. With only eight tennis scholarships available, it was clear that I had been removed to open a spot for her.

I wasn’t going to transfer for my senior year, and I briefly considered going to another school for my master’s so I could continue playing. But instead, I decided to focus my remaining time at MU on excelling in the classroom.

The harsh reality

In some ways I was lucky — my scholarship was protected by a four-year contract — but that’s not the case for a lot of athletes. Although athletic scholarships are often portrayed as a ticket to four years of being a college athlete, the harsh reality is that most sport scholarships only last for one academic year. This makes it easier for coaches to cut players for injuries or

Ábrahám was forced out of the Mizzou tennis program in 2021.

In February 2023, her former coach, Chris Wootton, was replaced partway through the season. MU did not give a formal reason for his departure. The team had finished the 2021-2022 season with a 7-20 record. Ábrahám shares her experience adjusting to her injury and coping with her removal from the tennis program in a video on voxmagazine.com.

College Athletics And Mental Health

A 2015 assessment by the American College Health Association showed that psychological distress is common among college athletes, with 52% of athletes reporting “overwhelming anxiety” and 41% saying they had “felt so depressed it was difficult to function.” Careerthreatening injuries can instigate or uncover existing mental health problems for college athletes, including depression and disordered eating, according to the NCAA.

coaching changes. But it causes stress and turbulence in the lives of student-athletes who are — as the NCAA often emphasizes — students first. How can a student athlete focus on both schoolwork and coming back from injury under the threat of losing funding?

Wootton ended the 2021-2022 season with seven wins and 20 losses, making him the least successful tennis coach at Mizzou since the school joined the SEC. It really raises the question of whether it was worth the team turmoil, including four players leaving the team either by quitting or transferring.

I believe life adds up to more than points on the scoreboard. I absolutely love everything MU has given me outside of the tennis court. However, I will always reflect on my time here as bittersweet. When I received that call while on the banks of the Seine in 2018, I didn’t know I would be left with a big scar, a shattered dream and nearly lose my love for a game that has given me so much.

Vivi Ábrahám is a first-year master’s student studying strategic communication at MU. Her research focuses on the mental health of student athletes.