WATCH: Di Lorenzo talks Midwest love and Italian food

MIDLAND, Mich.—Many players this week in Midland, Mich. are used to much warmer climates, but not Francesca Di Lorenzo. The 22-year-old grew up in Columbus, Ohio and feels right at home on the indoor courts at the Dow Tennis Classic, even as snow falls outside.

Di Lorenzo spent two years at Ohio State, leaving quite the impression before taking her left-handed skills to the pro tour. She was ranked No. 1 in the ITA rankings and was the first tennis player in program history to win an NCAA title when she won the 2017 doubles crown.

"it ended up working out. it was the best decision I've ever made," she said about going to college. And of turning pro, she calls it, "The best decision of my life."

Since 2017, she's already made a few splashes, including winning a main-draw round at the US Open in both 2018 and 2019. She enters the W100 ITF in Midland ranked at a career-high of No. 118.

Though raised in Ohio, Di Lorenzo's background is pure Italian. Her family speaks it at home, and Di Lorenzo has the language in her back pocket to go with her passion for home-cooked Italian cuisine.

"I like to say I'm fluent, my parents are like, eh not so much," she said. "I could live there if I wanted to."

Adam Ferman

Di Lorenzo is the No. 3 seed in Midland this week, and takes on former UCLA standout Catherine Harrison on Thursday. She has her eyes set on the Top 100 as she inches toward it.

"Very, very close," she said. "I try not to focus on it too much and just try to keep playing and improving and hopefully that'll work itself out."