Although Ryan Brown’s senior tennis season was cut short due to the Coronavirus pandemic, he is able to reflect back on moments from his career that have pushed him to be the hardworking, positive individual he is on and off the tennis court.

Brown and the team were driving up to Fresno for a match when they found out they would no longer be playing the rest of the season because of precautions taken surrounding the Coronavirus. “It was a huge bummer because we train all fall…and there’s a lot of work that goes into spring…you always want to end your senior season on a high note…part of me feels like I haven’t entirely digested not playing anymore,” Brown says.

Although the season came to an unexpected close, Brown can reflect on the great experience he had over the course of his four years. One of the highlights for Brown was his sophomore and junior year, playing Pepperdine and beating them both years. Brown was also successful in many doubles matches this 2019-2020 season and went 5-1-3. “I’m good at feeding off other people’s energy and I think that’s why I play better in doubles,” he says. Although Brown can marvel over many wins and matches, he expresses, “The things I will miss the most are traveling trips, going to practice everyday…I loved being around my coaches and teammates.”

As Brown looks ahead, he is confident about his near future. As a finance major, Brown had a job this past summer working at Warner Brothers in the finance department. “My plan is to stay at Warner Brothers, either working in the same [finance] department, or trying to work on movie sets, being a production accountant…I know I want to end up in the entertainment industry,” Brown points out.

Brown will be able to take skills learned from his tennis experience into the real world. Brown shares, “I’ve learned it’s more apparent when you have a good attitude…attitude can be everything… so if you can figure out a way to be as positive or excited about showing up everyday… that’s how you get play time, that’s how you succeed, that’s how you enjoy yourself.” As Brown reveals, many times in sports, athletes are expected to perform tasks they do not necessarily love doing, yet push through in order to be a dominant player. Similarly, Brown can take this mindset into other arenas of life such as the work field, making it easy for him to show up for life and push ahead to what is next.