#NextGenATP Quinn's change of plans & big-stage dreams

Ethan Quinn let loose a big fist pump towards his team Tuesday afternoon at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden and maintained eye contact with them throughout his walk to the net. The happy 19-year-old American had just qualified for an ATP Masters 1000 event for the first time.

Quinn had never earned his way into the main draw of a tour-level event through qualifying. Now the #NextGenATP star hopes to continue making his mark at the BNP Paribas Open.

“It means everything, especially being from Fresno originally. I guess you could say it's like the home Slam for me being from California,” Quinn told ATPTour.com. “Me and my coach have kind of been talking about the plan for after the tournament. And I was just like, ‘Alright, well, let's focus on this tournament. Let's focus on maybe winning a few matches here and then I'll change the plans afterwards’.”

^{Photo: Andrew Eichenholz/ATP Tour}
It has been a rollercoaster nine months for Quinn, who this time last year was playing college tennis for the University of Georgia and was just inside the Top 500 of the PIF ATP Rankings. The 2023 NCAA Singles champion turned pro during the American summer.

There have been bright moments, like when the teen played in the US Open main draw as a wild card. He also suffered a seven-match losing streak.

“There are a lot of highs and lows. There's been quite a few,” Quinn said. “Sometimes I take the losses a little bit harder than I probably should. But it's certainly been a fun journey.”

Throughout that journey, Quinn has learned plenty of lessons. The one that sticks out has nothing to do with forehands and backhands.

“Not to take the losses as hard. There's always going to be another match, another tournament. So just continuing to prepare, even after a loss, for the next tournament,” Quinn said. “It's just as important as the match that you're playing. You have to be able to prepare for the next tournament, and kind of forget what may have happened last week, because who knows.

“Maybe two weeks ago, when I played a tournament it could have been my worst match of the year. And then here I'm playing in the main draw. You have to really take the last match as lightly as you can.”

According to Quinn, he realised he needs to take wins and losses as similarly as possible. Getting too high or too low did not help his progress.

As Quinn has gained experience on and off the court, he has also seen an uptick in his results. In the final three weeks of his 2024 season, the California native made his first two ATP Challenger Tour semi-finals.

This February, he made his maiden final at that level. The #NextGenATP competitor lost in three sets to Patrick Kypson, his first-round opponent in the Indian Wells main draw.

Now a career-high No. 284 in the PIF ATP Rankings, Quinn practised ahead of the tournament on Stadium 2 with Tommy Paul, whose coach, Brad Stine, coached him for years in Fresno. And he has been in awe of the crowds, which have helped him make it this far.

“The fans today certainly made you understand why this is such a big tournament. There was such a big turnout for just a qualifying second-round match, so it's pretty amazing,” Quinn said. “I can only imagine what the main draw crowd will look like.”

Quinn is about to find out. There is no telling if his run will end against Kypson or against one of the ATP Tour’s biggest stars. But the seventh-placed player in the PIF ATP Live Race To Jeddah is grateful to be in position to give it his best shot.

“That's what you come to tournaments like this for. It's to be able to play on the big stage and just treat everyone the same. Treat everyone like I could beat them as well,” Quinn said. “When I was younger, my parents always said, anyone with a racquet in their hand is dangerous. So certainly with me coming off of two matches, I'm feeling pretty dangerous.”