Quick Facts
– School: University of South Carolina
– Year Graduated: 2019
– Current Job: WTA Player (#539 singles)
Bio
Ingrid was born in Brazil in August 22nd, 1996. Growing up, Ingrid was one of the best junior players in Brazil, eventually reaching the #135 position in the ITF juniors ranking. Ingrid had a good junior career, but she definitely took her game to the next level in college.
During her senior year in college, Ingrid finished the year as the #4 best singles player in the country and the #1 best doubles player in the country. She reached All-American status in both singles and doubles. She was selected by the ITA as the 2019 National Senior Player of the Year. She clinched the SEC championship match, giving USC its first SEC title in school history, which gave her the titles of SEC Player of the Year AND SEC Tournament MVP. Finally, she was also an NCAA Woman of The Year Nominee in 2019 and received other academic awards as well. You can say it was quite a year.
Since graduating in 2019, Ingrid has already won 4 future tournaments, reaching a WTA ranking of #539. She shared some great insights with us, and we hope you enjoy!
7 Questions With Ingrid Martins
#1) What was your recruiting/school selection process like?
I never thought about going to college until I was 18 years old. In March of 2015, I was playing Futures in Brazil and things were not going well for me and the country that was going through an economic crisis. My dad couldn’t afford my trips anymore and I was not getting the results I was expected to get.
My family and I saw the possibility of going to the US to play College Tennis. I immediately talked to my coach at the time. My focus was only tennis – I told him I wanted a good coach and a place where I could improve as a person and as a player so I could go pro after graduation. He wrote down in a paper the schools that he had connections and could talk to: the University of Virginia, University of North Carolina, University of Florida and the University of South Carolina.
I said no to Virginia right away because of the weather. North Carolina, apparently, did not want to accept me because of my UTR (Universal Tennis Ranking), so it was between Florida and South Carolina. I was in a rush since it was March already and I was going to school in August so the process had to be quick.
The University of South Carolina was the one that believed in me since the beginning. The Head Coach, Kevin Epley talked to my coach in Brazil at the time, asked for some quick videos and told me to get the minimum grades to get into school since I didn’t speak English well. I visited the school, the coaches and my future teammates and that was it. I didn’t have a lot of choices but I always like to say that even if I had another choice, after these 4 years, I would choose the University of South Carolina.
#2) What was your favorite moment/story/aspect of college?
My favorite moment was for sure in my Senior Year when I clinched the match against the number 1 player in the nation and captured the first SEC Championship in school history. We beat Florida and Vanderbilt to advance to the Final against Georgia. They were undefeated in the season. We had a 5% chance to win the title, according to the statistics websites in College. The night before I had a dream that made me wake up in the middle of the night thinking that we had already won the championship. In that dream, I saw myself lifting the trophy and wearing the famous championship hat.
I was playing the last match on and down 4-2 in the third set, when that dream came in my mind. I thought to myself: “Make that happen. This is yours, go get it for your team.” At that point, every point I won, I turned my eyes to my team on the sidelines. They were the people that lifted me up and believed in me in the difficult times. I couldn’t disappoint them and the school that provided me with the best experiences of my life. I came back 5-4 and it was a deuce point when my opponent was serving. I came to the net after some exchanges and she missed a backhand down the line. I dropped my racquet, fell on the court in tears and everyone jumped on me celebrating our first SEC title.
When I was a freshman, that accomplishment was very distant for us. We were not even in the top 30. We never had a good performance in the conference tournament. We really couldn’t believe that we did it. Everyone was so happy and it surpassed the dream that I had. We were going to bring 2 trophies home. The SEC Championship and my MVP trophy. That dream became reality and everything was real. The emotions of that day will stay forever in our minds.
#3) How did college tennis prepare you for the rest of your career/life?
I just started my first full year in professional tennis after graduation. College Tennis prepared me to face any situation in life, on and off the tennis court. In College, you learn much more than your major or sport, you learn how to be a good citizen. You learn how to become resilient which for me is the most important aspect to be successful or achieve anything in life.
Looking back, every year was a different chapter. Every year, I had to deal with a different situation so then I was building strengthens. It changed the way I look at the world and I value even more the people around me and every opportunity that I am given. The team aspect of it showed me that nothing great can be accomplished by one single individual. College taught me that you have to compete and fight as hard as you can for the things that you want or believe is right.
#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?
You have to choose a number one priority. Of course, you will have to give your maximum effort in both areas since you are in College but there are times that if you have clear on your mind that your priority is tennis, for example, you will make better decisions to keep your good performance in tennis. You will prioritize a night of sleep over staying up late in the library to finish a paper. You will have to manage your time around your main priority. Use the resources that you have in school. Your advisors, professors, coaches and teammates. They are in the same “boat” as you.
#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 the main thing is to follow your instinct. You are different than everyone else. You will never be like your classmate that goes out every night, for example. You have to learn how to be different and accept it. A lot of people get lost or unfulfilled because they want to fit in both areas. Keep in mind that it is your path and your life. There are times for social life and fun for sure but you have to do your “homework” first, in academics or tennis. The choices that you make in College will impact significantly your future.
#6) Knowing what you know now, what would you do differently if you were starting college again today?
If I could change something, I would give myself more time to learn the language before going to College. Since I didn’t have a lot of time to learn English, I struggled a lot communicating with people. I didn’t feel included most of the times and I remember thinking about coming back home. It was my first time living in a different country away from my family. Most of the times, my teammates and coaches couldn’t understand me which made things more difficult for me and for the team.
#7) In your case, why did you think that college tennis was a good option as opposed to going directly to the pro tour?
College for me is a miniature of the adult life for teenagers. You face obstacles that you never faced before and circumstances that you are going to face a lot of times in your life.
It was important for me because I was not ready to live 100% for tennis. I was 18 but with the body and mentality of a 16-year-old kid. When I was young and went to the doctor, he said, after some examinations, that I was 2 years behind the girls of my age. I was always behind my friends and the people that I was competing in Juniors. I needed more time to develop. Even though I was competing on the pro tour already, I could see that I was not going to last long at that time. I didn’t want to be an ordinary player. I was not going to achieve what I wanted playing professionally at that age and with the conditions that I had. The professional tour requires a lot of resources for you to have a chance to be successful at it. I was not even close to having that when I was 18 living in Brazil.
Going to College was the best decision I have ever made. I learned more about the game in every way possible. I fell in love even more with tennis, I made relationships for the rest of my life and every year I worked towards the goal of pursuing a professional career after graduation.