Commitment Announcement
Kyle Mautner to Penn
by Peter Green, 18 August 2014
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When he was 7 years old, Kyle Mautner's father introduced him to tennis, but hockey was his main sport until he started playing tennis tournaments at age 12. Up until then he also played soccer and baseball.
"When I was about 12 years old, I opted out of an ice hockey tournament in Canada in order to play my first national - the Southern Open," said Mautner. "I ended up winning that tournament."
As a teenager his goal was "to get as many training hours on the court as possible while still getting good grades in school." Mautner always wanted to be one of the top National players. His focus on tennis and on getting good grades at school is paying off with an Ivy League education at the University of Pennsylvania.
"Tennis requires discipline and preparation in order to be successful," said Mautner. "I have become adept in time management. When I am not playing tennis I am usually doing schoolwork."
Mautner still tries to find time to hangout with his friends as much as possible. "Junior tennis has allowed me to become very independent. It also has required discipline and preparation in order to be successful. All of these aspects will prepare me for college."
Mautner is excited to join the Quaker squad - some of his favorite junior tennis memories are in team events like zonals and intersectionals.
Kyle is coached by Adrian Chirici of the Robbie Wagner Tournament Training Center and by Todd Widom of TW Tennis.
"When I first met Kyle, he was a very good competitor but he was too defensive - relying on just putting balls in the court," says Widom. "Kyle plays his best when he is offensive and taking the point to the other person which will force the opponent into mistakes. We have worked very hard at developing a pro style aggressive game - which means to be a very strong aggressive complete player off of the forehand and backhand side. His serve and return of serve have become weapons as well.
"Now that Kyle understands how he should be playing and competing, he needs to become much stronger physically, plus become much more flexible and agile. Kyle has also matured mentally as he knows how to compete and handle himself in all situations that a match or tournament may bring to him. Kyle has made drastic improvements in a short time, and I expect that he will be a top-notch Ivy League tennis player - and then progress to professional tennis."
