Colorado is full of athletes, some of them more known than others. On this occasion, we will dive into the performances of big names in tennis, including junior players like Jeff Cathrall, Grand Slam winners such as Rajeev Ram, and more tennis players who have left a mark in this sport’s history and who started their careers in Colorado.
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7. Luke and Clancy Shields
The Shields brothers were highly successful during their junior careers. They were born in Grand Junction and played tennis in college at Boise State University. While Luke received the Western Athletic Conference Player of the Year in 2007, Clancy was a first-team Academic All-American.
Luke became the coach of the Boise State University tennis team, his alma mater, in 2022, and Clancy is also a coach at Utah State. Both have taken their respective teams to the top of the game, even receiving honors like Coach of the Year.
6. Jeff Cathrall
Jeff Cathrall, a member of the Colorado Tennis Hall of Fame, is one of the best-known junior players in the state. He was at the top of his career during the 1980s, when he earned several rankings during his teenage years, like being part of the top 50 when he was only 12 or getting into the top 10 when he reached 18.
Cathrall limited himself to college tennis while attending Stanford University. Still, he won the National NCAA for three consecutive years from 1988 to 1990.
5. Krista Damico
Krista Damico is one of the most recent additions to the Colorado Tennis Hall of Fame. During the 2004 ranking of USTA Girls, she got number six and won the U.S. Super National Hardcourt Championships in singles and doubles when she was only 14.
Damico was named All-Big 12 in singles and doubles several times, in 2010 and 2012. Meanwhile, the player also participated in Grand Slams, such as the U.S. Open in the girls’ singles draws category, and Wimbledon and the Australian Open, both in girls’ qualifying events.
4. Kellen Damico
Damico became the number one junior player in the world ranking in doubles and number five in the singles. Though he was born in Colorado, Kellen Damico made history at the University of Texas, where he received the All-American title and won the Big 12 championship alongside his partner Ed Corrie.
Kellen got into the U.S. Open men’s doubles semifinals in 2006 and 2007, competing with Nate Schnugg; still, they only won the USTA Boys’ National Championships in 2007. Damico is also known for his performance in the 2006 Wimbledon Junior Championship, and the Australian Open Junior Championships, both attended with Schungg.
3. Scott Humphries
Humphries was at the top of his career in 2000, when he reached 29th place in the career-high doubles ranking, though four years earlier he got number 260 in the singles ranking. Scott Humphries was born in 1976 in Greeley, Colorado. However, he attended Stanford University for a year when he started his junior career, during which he participated in the doubles finals of the 1993 Australian Open and the 1994 U.S. Open.
He won three ATP titles during his career, but his best performance was during the 2001 Australian Open when he got to the semifinals alongside Justin Gimelston.
2. Victor Amaya
Though Amaya retired in 1984, he’s still remembered as one of the top tennis players from Colorado. Born in Denver in 1954, he started his professional career in 1973, playing college tennis at the University of Michigan. Victor Amaya is best known for his left hand and almost winning against Björn Borg in the first round of the 1978 Wimbledon Championships.
He had a record of 186-173 in singles and 193-170 in doubles, and he also got the 15th place in the ranking of 1980. Some of his winning titles include U.S. Open Doubles Runner-Up and winner of the 1980 French Open in doubles, both with his partner Hank Pfister. Overall, Victor Amaya holds six titles from the ATP.
1. Rajeev Ram
Rajeev Ram has made a name for himself since turning pro in 2004. Ram was born in Denver in 1984 and kept rising in his career, though he retired from singles in 2017. His right-handed backhand has gotten him several victories, including the U.S. Open winner in doubles in 2021, 2022, and 2023, and the Australian Open in 2020.
Ram has been playing since college, even receiving a scholarship from the University of Illinois after he won the estate singles championship. He’s currently a six-time major champion and has competed alongside Joe Salisbury, Barbora Krejckova, and Venus Williams. Rajeev Ram also participated in the Olympics in 2016, winning silver in mixed doubles, and 2020.
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