UTR PTT Champion and college tennis star Johannus Monday hits a forehand

'Best is yet to Come' for Johannus Monday, College Tennis Star, PTT Champion

After wrapping up a very successful college tennis career, the next challenge for Johannus Monday, the former No. 1 player in college tennis, is the pro tour.

Monday (UTR Rating 14.05), a University of Tennessee alum, has been playing a few ITF Futures and ATP Challenger events this summer to progress in this new phase of his sporting life. His results include winning a $25K Futures event in Lansing, Michigan.

From Hull, England, Monday was a six-time All-American (all four years in singles and twice in doubles) as a Tennessee Volunteer. He was named the SEC Player of the Year in both his junior and senior seasons and was the country’s No. 1-ranked college tennis player in May.

Johannus Monday hits a forehand at a college tennis tournament

The 22-year-old says his college experience helped him grow and mature both as a player and a person.

“I think it helped me in a lot of ways,” said Monday, currently ranked world No. 677. “Firstly, getting to compete and play a lot of matches against good players no matter where you play in the lineup. I’ve also been very fortunate to have some great coaches, and you get to train with great players every day in a very structured environment.”

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And it’s being around his teammates that are his top memories from his four seasons at Tennessee.

“Winning the SEC tournament my freshman year was just an incredible experience and one of the best days of my life, being able to share it with so many people involved,” he said. “The special part of college tennis is it takes so many people to put a team together, so it was really cool sharing that memory with them.

“And honestly, the best parts to me was just the day-to-day training, having lunch with the guys, going through the tough times with them, and always being there for one another.”

As part of his tennis journey, Monday has also played a few UTR Pro Tennis Tour events, most recently last December in Knoxville, Tennessee, where he finished runner-up.

For him, the format of the UTR PTT tournaments is of high value.

“Having a guaranteed amount of matches per week can really help the development of a person’s game,” said Monday, a 6-foot-5 left-hander. “You get tough competition each day which is really good, and I like how if you win or lose you can come back the next day and have another shot at it. A high level of competition throughout a number of days is really important.

“The prize money helps as well, it’s a huge incentive and motivation to try and win, and you can use that prize money to continue your tennis career.”

Monday also competed in PTT events in Atlanta in August 2022 (runner-up) and Charleston in June 2022 (champion).

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While his focus now is on building his ATP ranking, he says he would play a PTT again if he needs to build up his confidence and consistency.

“It’s a great way to drop back in, gain some confidence, and get a lot of match play.”

Coming up, Monday will be playing some ITF Futures events in the United States. And then, among his goals for the 2025 season is making Grand Slam qualifying draws.

“I plan to keep trying to get my ranking up as high as possible, but doing it in the right way and not just trying to rush and get points,” he said. “I just want to really keep developing my game, and a big thing for me is to get physically stronger and more robust for the tour, because that’s a big step up from college. So that’s what I’m focusing on now.”

Tennis has been a part of Monday’s life since he was five years old, and it will be for years to come. First and foremost, he says he loves competing and he loves winning. But more than that, the sport has taught him a lot.

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“I like the values and life lessons tennis teaches you, I think that’s important,” he said. “Being hard working and dedicated, passionate and disciplined, but also in terms of being humble, knowing how to lose. In life you lose a lot, and you lose a lot in tennis. So that’s a very important skill as well.

“And I think being a good person,” he added. “That’s the most important thing, and trying your best. If you can do those two things, that’s all you can really do, and I think good things happen to good people.”

And while he has already accomplished a lot in his young career – including playing in the 2023 Wimbledon singles qualifying and doubles main draws as a wild card, something he calls “the biggest honor of my life so far” – he knows he has much to look forward to.

“I still think the best is yet to come.”

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