By By ERIKA PICKLES / Niles Daily Star
NILES – Most young sports fans never get the chance to meet a professional athlete, let alone work with one.
On Monday, Luke Jensen stopped by the Lakeland Athletic Club for a day of tennis drills with area athletes.
Jensen is currently a tennis analyst for ESPN and the head women's tennis coach at Syracuse University. In 1993, he and brother, Murphy won the French Open doubles championship.
Jensen is the only player in professional tennis history to play with either hand, serving the ball right and left handed at over 130 mph, hence the nickname Dual Hand Luke.
Jensen has won a total of 10 doubles titles on the Association of Tennis Professional (ATP) tour and has defeated other professional tennis starts such as Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi, Ivan Lendl, John McEnroe, Bjorn Borg, Jimmy Connors, Boris Becker, Stefan Edberg and Jim Courier.
So having him in Niles was a very special treat.
"I think it really sparks an interest in people when you have a world-class tennis professional come to town. It draws a lot of tennis players, new and advanced, to the courts and that's what we are trying to do, get more people playing tennis," Lakeland Athletic Club manager Doug Campbell said Monday afternoon.
Jensen also admitted that he would like to see tennis become a more popular sport in the United States.
"Tennis is not ranked No. 2 or 3 in the U.S. It falls behind football, basketball, baseball, it's just not as popular as it is in other countries. You travel anywhere else and tennis is No. 2, with soccer being the most popular sport. Last year, 26-27 million people played tennis here in the U.S., which is a lot of people, but we want to see those numbers go up," Jensen said.
And that's why Jensen makes appearances around the world, holding one-day clinics for athletes interested in learning the game or bettering their skills.
"Being a tour player, you can choose to become involved in adult clinics, junior clinics and you have the opportunity to travel all over the world. I really enjoy the aspect of seeing someone start for the first time, as opposed to someone who has played for years," Jensen said.
And that dedication helped get Jensen to where he is today.
Jensen and Notre Dame assistant tennis coach Ryan Sachire had an exhibition match scheduled for later in the evening on the club's clay courts, something Jensen is very fond of.
"I think it helps you fitness-wise and it helps you round out your game," Jensen said of the courts.
Jensen said playing on clay courts is something much different and it takes a lot of time to get used to.
"It really starts almost a year in advance getting yourself mentally and physically prepared," Jensen said of the French Open, which is played on clay courts. "You play the U.S. Open, Wimbledon and the Australian, which are on a faster court, and you can hit one big shot and get out of a point. At the French championships, you can't. It takes two or three shots, almost like a game of chess. You have to move your pieces, or your shots, around the court. It's hard to put players away. You have to be thinking about that tournament a year in advance."
Which is exactly what Jensen does. He keeps busy year round, juggling a lot of different tasks, but he admitted he wouldn't take anything back.
"Coaching, playing, being involved with ESPN, it's everything I enjoy," Jensen said.
It was obvious why he liked the sport so much.
Jensen kept the kids busy at the indoor courts at the Athletic Club, working on just about every basic tennis move there was. He spent time talking with the participants and gave everyone a brief biography of himself.
Jensen grew up in Michigan and attended East Grand Rapids High School. There, he was a singles state champion and went on to play at
Jensen talked about playing on many area courts, including at the University of Notre Dame and at Leeper Park in South Bend, Ind.
"If you want to be a professional at anything, you have to start early and stay committed. I grew up playing tennis. My family all played, so it was nothing new. But it's something I knew I wanted to do with my life, so when I was 14 years-old, I was on the courts by 5 a.m. every morning before school, then would go back for a couple hours after school," Jensen said.
Jensen hopes that one day tennis can be even more popular in the U.S. and he is confident that it will, saying that it's already on the rise. His public appearances are also an added plus to gaining some popularity to the sport.
"It was good timing with the French Open," Campbell said. "We are excited to have him here. He's done an appearance here before and after today, we are hoping we can bring him back again."
With the success of Monday's clinic, we can be sure of a Jensen return in the future.