ATP Tour

Coach Endelman on 'joker' Zheng: 'He has a special sense'

Michael Zheng is enjoying the run of his life at Wimbledon, but still finding time to prank his long-time college coach Howard Endelman, who may think twice before opening the next message he receives.

On Friday morning, the Columbia University head coach was on his way to Heathrow Airport to pick up his girlfriend, who was arriving from New York, when Zheng decided to have some fun.

“Really sorry, I made a huge mistake with the tickets for the match later on Centre Court,” Zheng wrote. “You've got to choose between these two people to be courtside, I won’t be able to get everyone in.”

Endelman’s mind briefly raced.

“My girlfriend had flown all the way over from New York for this match and now she’s not getting in! I wasn’t sure what to say,” Endelman told ATPTour.com.

Then came the punchline.

“Ahh I got you didn’t I. Don’t worry, tickets are all good, see you in a bit.”

For those who know Zheng, it is entirely on brand.

The 22-year-old qualifier is living the week of his life at Wimbledon, where he has reached the third round on debut after victories over British No. 1 Cameron Norrie and Nicolas Mejia. On Friday evening, he will step onto Centre Court for the biggest match of his young career against Felix Auger-Aliassime.

While much of the tennis world is only beginning to learn about Zheng, Endelman has known him since 2020 and believes the personality on display this week is as important as the game that has carried him to two NCAA singles titles, three ATP Challenger crowns, and wins at both the Australian Open and Wimbledon in 2026.

“He has such a good balance between being serious on court but also being relaxed in the right moments,” Endelman said. “He loves a joke.”

That blend of calm and competitiveness showed most vividly in Zheng’s second-round win over Mejia.

After dropping the opening set, Zheng found himself staring down a set point at 5/6 in the second-set tie-break. What followed became one of the moments of Wimbledon’s opening week: a full-stretch forehand diving volley, finished while sprawled face down on the grass after somehow keeping the point alive. The shot quickly went viral, but Zheng’s reaction may have been even better.

“After that point he came over and was laughing with us on the side saying, ‘Can you believe that point? How good was that'?” Endelman said.

“I think it just sums him up. He is just a really, really solid person. Extremely, extremely intelligent, sky-high tennis IQ, and a very, very good sense of humour. He is very smart guy, serious on the court and extremely fun-loving off the court.”

If Zheng’s personality makes him a popular figure, his tennis has made clear why he belongs on one of the sport’s biggest stages. Facing Norrie in his opening match at The Championships after qualifying, Zheng played lights out in the fifth-set tie-break to silence the British crowd and the World No. 29.

For many debutants, the occasion alone could have felt overwhelming. Zheng instead seemed to become more comfortable as the pressure increased.

“He just has this special sense about him,” Endelman said. “A special gift where, when the moment gets more tense, that's when he brings out his best. Against Norrie he was so calm and composed. It looked like he'd been in that situation so many times before. He is playing the British No. 1, a guy who reached the quarter-finals at Wimbledon last year, and he just took it in his stride and played such a great Match Tie-break.

“But nothing really surprises me about Michael because I see all the work he puts in when nobody's watching. He does it in a really low-key way too. He doesn't make a big fuss about it. But he works so hard, is intense when he needs to be at is very level too. He has all the attributes.”

That ability to rise in big moments has been developing for years. In 2024 he became the first Ivy League player in more than a century to win the NCAA singles title. In 2025, he defended his crown and triumphed again.

“In his sophomore year he actually came out of nowhere to reach the finals,” Endelman said. “It was like, 'Wow, he's really improved'. Then in his junior year, he wasn't really coming out of nowhere anymore. He just kept going and all of a sudden he was in the semis and then the finals, and then he won.

“Then the next year he was defending champion, so there was a whole different level of pressure at the NCAAs. It's kind of like having a target on your back. He handled that really well.”

^{_{Former Columbia star, Theodore Winegar, Howard Endelman and Michael Zheng at Wimbledon this week}}

Zheng also delivered at ATP Challenger events in 2025 winning three titles on U.S. hard courts in the second half of the season.

“I think he really started to mature as a person off the court,” Endelman said. “That was number one. He also started getting a lot stronger and being really diligent in the weight room. Everything started to get a little bit better. Towards the end of the summer around Chicago, he started to really flow.

“I think he started getting confidence. He was getting stronger, serving and returning better, and then he started feeling like he belonged. I remember that being a big thing, just believing he belonged at the next level. First it's: Do I belong at Challenger level? He'd played plenty of Futures, then starts thinking, ‘Okay, I belong here’. Then he wins one and starts thinking, Okay, I expect to win a little bit now. Then it all came together and then the Australian Open happens.”

Zheng, who was still at college at the time, came through qualifying in Melbourne before he shocked Sebastian Korda in the first round in five sets to earn his first main-draw win at a major. The 22-year-old then qualified for Roland Garros in May and now is on the run of his life at SW19. But the next challenge is turning standout wins into consistency.

“The first thing to improve is continuing to get stronger physically because of how demanding the tour has become,” Endelman said. “Getting stronger and putting on weight. He could probably add another five to seven kilos to his frame.

“Obviously continuing to improve his serve, and also improving the backhand so he can hit through the court more consistently like he does with the forehand.”

For now, though, the focus shifts to Centre Court and a first meeting with Auger-Aliassime on Friday night.

“Felix has obviously been in these situations many times before,” said Endelman, who was a Top 200 doubles player and competed in doubles qualifying at Wimbledon in 1988. “But I watched his press conference after the second round and I thought he gave Michael a lot of respect.

“He was saying Michael's a tricky player and a very intelligent player. Felix said he wasn't surprised at all that Michael had reached the third round. Let’s see what Michael can do.”