Becoming a professional athlete is the dream of millions around the world. To turn a passion of a sport, a physical activity with the goal of beating your opponent, into a drive to be the very best that has ever existed and beat everyone along the way. Many people have this is a dream in their mind, but not many have it as a dignified goal that they would do anything to work towards.

Tatsuya Tsurumi, is one the individuals who sees becoming a professional tennis player as a hard set goal that will happen. Its the extents to which Tsurumi will go, and has gone, that draws him out from the rest of the crowd as a champion in the making.

Tatsuya Tsurumi is a junior foreign exchange student who comes from Japan, and in his first year trying out for varsity tennis, has already become the number one player. “Tatsu for sure is the strongest most confident” states Hayden Warner, a junior who has been playing the sport for 5 years.

Tsurumi started the sport, or a version of the sport, not long ago, “I started like 3 years ago” explains Tsurumi, “When I was junior high school student I used to play soft things.” Soft things, according to Tsurumi’s description, was a form of tennis in which it was the same sport but a very soft ball, liken to that of a cotton ball, was used in place of an actual tennis ball.

But starting in junior high with soft things, he begin to learn that he had a passion. With passion came strong motivation to work harder at the sport, I started regular tennis when I was in freshman high school student” and front that point he has only gone on to improve his skill and craft.

“I practice a lot because I love tennis” explains Tsurumi, where most every day he practices with the Perry tennis team. Except for wednesdays, when he practices with his private coach at the campo high school tennis courts. When he isn’t on the field or getting tutored, he watches tennis videos on youtube “actually I always think about tennis.”

The motivation for coming to America in the first place though, is very much tied to the sport as well. In Japan he joined a local tournament of high appraise roughly translated too the “Iche Ton Tennis Tournament”, “I joined a big tennis tournament in Japan and I got second place” Tsurumi explains. Solidifying his confidence, in coming to the highly regarded American scene.

“I just thought america is famous for all sports”, elaborates Tsurumi in his explanation of what made American tennis special to him. “I want to practice tennis in America and I want to be a stronger tennis player”.

“Very fast, very quick.” exclaimed the first year boys tennis coach, John Waltz while talking about Tsurumi. Waltz continued, “He is helping all the other players get better too.” Waltz has been a career professional coach in the industry. lessons. “He’s really good coach,” said Tsurumi, “He tells us a lot that the biggest reason he coaches at perry is because he likes the students here and knows we’re all good kids” Hayden Warner.

Tatsuya Tsurumi has made himself pop out amount the fold of tennis players, not only in his hometown Japan but now all across the world. All this being done in the sake of two simple goals: to be a “professional tennis player”, and the goal of becoming a “champion in America.”