Spring Break
Pro aspirations
Shuon Madden quits regular day job to pursue career in professional tennis
By: Nikki Knight
Issue date: 6/21/04 Section: Sports
Hubbell said he can vividly remember every player's reaction, but most importantly he remembers Madden and his confidence.
"The thing that I remember most is that the guy had no fear. Even when he was a freshman, he didn't fear guys who were older; he had this killer instinct."
Off the court, Madden said the biggest influence would have to be his parents. Having moved from a foreign country, his parents sacrificed much for the family and never showed signs that things weren't always running smoothly.
A&M men's head tennis coach Tim Cass wishes Madden well and will be closely following his results.
"I can't say enough about the job that Shuon has done for our program," Cass said. "His standard of excellence and work ethic on and off the court is extraordinary. He has done a tremendous amount for A&M both as a player and as a coach."
Madden said he will focus on his conditioning and training before going to Eastern Europe in August to begin playing six weeks of future-level tournaments.
In October, Madden hopes to return home to the United States to play future-level tournaments in Texas and Louisiana. He will use November and December for training to help prepare for the spring and summer season. He will then go to Central America in January and to India in February. He then hopes to return to Eastern Europe by the second half of next year.
Madden said he plans to advance through the three levels of professional tennis: Futures, Challengers and the ATP Tour. He will accomplish this by accumulating award points, and he hopes it will happen after about 16 months of Futures play.
Madden's ultimate goal is to become one of the top 120 to 150 players in the world consistently, which is the elite. He said the level of play doesn't change much from there on up.
"I plan to put it in God's hands and see how high I can go from there," Madden said.
Madden said it was no single moment, but a series of events that led him to believe he could excel at the sport.
"Now it's time to put that dream to the test. I think at some point later in my life I'll end up back in College Station, but I think right now it's time for me to take this challenge head on."
"The thing that I remember most is that the guy had no fear. Even when he was a freshman, he didn't fear guys who were older; he had this killer instinct."
Off the court, Madden said the biggest influence would have to be his parents. Having moved from a foreign country, his parents sacrificed much for the family and never showed signs that things weren't always running smoothly.
A&M men's head tennis coach Tim Cass wishes Madden well and will be closely following his results.
"I can't say enough about the job that Shuon has done for our program," Cass said. "His standard of excellence and work ethic on and off the court is extraordinary. He has done a tremendous amount for A&M both as a player and as a coach."
Madden said he will focus on his conditioning and training before going to Eastern Europe in August to begin playing six weeks of future-level tournaments.
In October, Madden hopes to return home to the United States to play future-level tournaments in Texas and Louisiana. He will use November and December for training to help prepare for the spring and summer season. He will then go to Central America in January and to India in February. He then hopes to return to Eastern Europe by the second half of next year.
Madden said he plans to advance through the three levels of professional tennis: Futures, Challengers and the ATP Tour. He will accomplish this by accumulating award points, and he hopes it will happen after about 16 months of Futures play.
Madden's ultimate goal is to become one of the top 120 to 150 players in the world consistently, which is the elite. He said the level of play doesn't change much from there on up.
"I plan to put it in God's hands and see how high I can go from there," Madden said.
Madden said it was no single moment, but a series of events that led him to believe he could excel at the sport.
"Now it's time to put that dream to the test. I think at some point later in my life I'll end up back in College Station, but I think right now it's time for me to take this challenge head on."
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