A memorable Tuesday for Dane Sweeny and Tristan Schoolkate at the US Open began with a familiar feeling: competing side by side.
The Australians are now both inside the Top 160 of the PIF ATP Live Rankings, having reached the second-round of a Grand Slam tournament at the same time in New York. It is a long way from 2019, when the pair shared a house in Brisbane and spent their days training together before taking their rivalry home.
“Ping pong. That's the first thing that came to mind,” Sweeny told ATPTour.com. “We lived together for a year just before COVID. We would train together two to four hours a day, come back, put the sweatbands on, and head straight to the garage for an hour of ping pong.
“The competition wouldn't stop and then we'd chuck a movie on. That was the routine for about a year straight. We learned a lot about each other and grew really close.”
Seven years later, the two friends are enjoying the fruits of those long days on court. Schoolkate qualified for the main draw before defeating Nishesh Basavareddy to reach the second round in New York for the third straight year. Sweeny, who led Corentin Moutet before the Frenchman retired, is playing in his first main-draw at the US Open, having never even played in the qualifying competition as a professional.
Their matches unfolded at almost exactly the same time on Tuesday, and Schoolkate was unable to resist keeping an eye on the scoreboard during changeovers, watching for updates from Sweeny’s match nearby.
“It was epic. I couldn't help but sit and look at the scoreboard the whole time and his score would pop up every now and then,” Schoolkate, the World No. 180, said. “I figured that when it popped off, Moutet must have retired or the match was done, so I was pretty pumped.
“We're amped. We saw each other this morning and said it was hopefully going to be a good day for us. It's always nice to have success together and see those results. I think he's enjoying himself. He’s started off strong and I’m sure he'll have a great time in the next round too. I’m happy for him.”
Both emerged among Australia's leading juniors, with Schoolkate and Sweeny reaching the quarter-finals of the 2019 Australian Open boys' doubles together. They have since taken different routes through the professional ranks, sometimes climbing together and sometimes taking turns being the one further ahead.
“We've known each other since 10 years old and we were always the best in Australia and were up there with the best, so we got to see a bit of each other,” Sweeny explained. “It's been a really beautiful friendship. We've grown together. He's been ahead of me in the rankings, I've been ahead of him in the rankings… It's always changing.
“But we've stayed really good mates throughout it all and I really respect him and admire him for how he goes about his business. He's incredibly professional and he's inspired me to do the same. He's just a really nice, easy going guy and we get along really well.”
Tristan Schoolkate and Dane Sweeny in the 2019 Australian Open boys' doubles event. Photo: Michael Dodge/Getty Images.
Having someone who understands the same Australian upbringing, the same junior journey and the same sacrifices can make the travelling life feel a little less lonely. And even back when they were sharing that Brisbane house, there was a belief that the work they were putting in could eventually take them to places such as New York.
“We really valued the hard work and we put in the hard work and we both believed that it could happen for sure,” Sweeny, the World No. 123, said. “I don't know if that's the Australian way. Maybe we could have done it better or worse, I'm not sure. I knew he really believed in me and I believed in him and we believed in ourselves. We put in the work that was required and the rest was God's plan.”
The hard work can be seen in the way they both wear their heart on their sleeves when they are out on court. Both are known for their spectacular diving shots, one of which Schoolkate produced in the second set of his clash with Basavareddy that landed for a clean winner.
Sweeny has developed a similar reputation: After beating the Australian at Wimbledon this year, Grigor Dimitrov even jokingly told him to “stop diving so much”.
“Sometimes I can't help it. I'm just in the air before I even know it,” Sweeny says, laughing. “It can come up with some good points. It can be entertaining, but I'm just trying to do all I can to win, so I'll throw my body around to do that.”
From a Brisbane garage, where the rivalry continued over ping pong after hours of tennis, to the US Open and the second round of a Grand Slam tournament, Sweeny and Schoolkate are still competing together.
Only now, there is a little more at stake than bragging rights over a game of table tennis.
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