Quick Facts
– School: Texas tech
– Year Graduated: 2011
– Current Job: ATP Player (#69 Doubles)
Bio
Gonzalo Escobar was born in Manta, Ecuador, on January 20, 1989. He reached the 40th position in the junior rankings, deciding to eventually commit to a very strong team at Texas Tech University.
During his time at Texas Tech, Gonzalo played mostly at the top of line-up (1 & 2), finishing back to back years ranking among the top 40 players in the country. After graduating from Texas Tech, he decided to play on the ATP Tour. Recently Gonzalo reached his career-high ranking of #69 in the world in doubles. In 2020, along with one of our past interviewees Diego Hidalgo, Gonzalo clinched the Davis Cup tie against Japan – securing Ecuador a spot in the Davis Cup Finals.
Gonzalo is an outstanding person who has worked very hard toward his goals. He has some cool things to share about his college experience, and we hope you enjoy the read.
7 Questions With Gonzalo Escobar
#1) What was your recruiting/school selection process like?
My first contact with a college coach came after I had a stress fracture in my back when I was 17. It was then when I realized that I wasn’t physically or mentally ready to pursue a full time professional career. Luckily at that time, my friend from Ecuador, David Gonzalez, told me that Texas Tech, where he recently committed, was looking for one more player. Even tough it is hard to get to know and trust coaches, it only took a couple of calls with Tim Siegel and Marcelo Ferreira to know that Texas Tech was the place that I wanted to go to. I committed two months before the start of the fall semester, in 2009. At the time, I was talking to a few schools, without making any progress other than with Tech.
#2) What was your favorite moment/story/aspect of college?
I think that my favorite part of college was that I went to school with friends that I have made in the past. I can think of many fun moments that we shared especially on the tennis court, but what sticks with me the most, is that our friendship remains very strong even after 8 years.
#3) How did college tennis prepare you for the rest of your career/life?
Before college, I used to think only about tennis and once I got there, for the first time, I had all these opportunities and the freedom to choose whatever I wanted to do from then on. Combining academics with tennis, I think that it gave me an edge to enter the professional tour with a lot more discipline and commitment than when I was in my junior ITF years.
#4) A lot of juniors and parents worry that tennis will suffer because of the academic demands of college. What advice would you give an 18-year old in terms of balancing academics and tennis?
Obviously the demands in the classroom and on the court are very high. One of the skills that you learn throughout your college career is time management. A skill that will no only help you balance tennis and academics, but that will serve you for the rest of your life.
#5) Another thing we see parents worrying about is how the social component of college will affect their kids’ tennis. What would you tell an 18-year old going to college in regards to having fun without compromising their tennis/academics?
I think that having fun is part of the college experience. Tennis programs around the country do a pretty good job setting some boundaries.
#6) Knowing what you know now, what would you do differently if you were starting college again today?
I think that I would have set goals to accomplish. I could’ve prepared better before going to college and I had to improvise a lot my first years ( I had no idea about the system, about scheduling, I had poor time management; and it took me some time to adapt and to get the most out of it)
#7) In your case, why did you think that college tennis was a good option as opposed to going directly to the pro tour?
I think that going to college first, gave me the opportunity to improve as a tennis player ( on court and in the gym). There were many areas that still needed to be developed, and I believe that playing college tennis helped me with that. After college, I was accepting my limitations which not only allowed to work hard to try and improve them, but also, I was able to deal better with things that were not going my way in a match.