MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – Jacob Johnson was practically born with a tennis racket in his crib, but when he was old enough to actually start playing sports, he was more drawn to the baseball diamond than the court.
“I didn’t enjoy it,” he said when asked about his initial thoughts on tennis.
He played in some United States Tennis Association tournaments, but there wasn’t an early buy-in on Johnson’s part despite his father Ritchie – who played at Bleckley County High School in Georgia – wanting him to follow in his footsteps, a desire he kept private and never pushed.
Sometime around the age of 12, it clicked. There was no eye-opening moment for the younger Johnson when it came to his decision to focus on tennis, though. That took time.
It happened over the course of USTA tournaments at which he believed he competed well against some high-level players. It happened through the training of his father as the two spent time hitting together when Jacob was home-schooled before choosing to attend Walker Valley beginning with his sophomore year of high school. It has continued under the tutelage of a Lee University tennis player who attends The Chapel – a nondenominational church in Cleveland where his father is the pastor – as well as Mustangs coach Jordan Willcutt.