Brandon Holt has played 31 tournaments in 42 weeks, but he’s not counting

Brandon Holt, the 112^th-ranked men’s tennis player in the world, has been on the road this year.

“You could pretty much say non-stop,” he clarifies.

The 27-year-old began his nomadic journey on December 28 at the ATP Challenger Tour stop in Canberra, Australia, before traveling to Thailand, to his home in Southern California and to Dallas. Then it was off to Bahrain, India for two Challengers, a return trip to North America for four tournaments, South Korea, China and England.

Not that he complained about his itinerary for the first six months of his season.

“These places are so different and so similar that it’s really special,” Holt says from his hotel room in Skipton, England just northwest of Leeds and close to the Ilkley Challenger. “People are amazing basically all over the world. I would never see these places without playing professional tennis.”

Holt’s half-year haul, and subsequent four months of globetrotting, have taken him in search of ranking points and, above all else, in service to his “process.” His stay in Ilkley lasted just one match, as did his next stop in nearby Nottingham. But Holt shook it off a few days later in Mallorca, picking up three wins to qualify for the main draw and crack the ATP Top 100 for the first time.

A 2-8 stretch followed, but he’s now won three of his last four matches. The cerebral American won’t let himself get too caught up, though, on his sport’s rollercoaster ride.

“I’m not really the most goal-oriented person—the process is everything for me,” Holt says.

In my head, I’d love to win this tournament, reach this ranking, but in the end I think that takes care of itself, if you just give 100 percent effort.

“And almost to my shock and surprise, it always seems to pretty much work out, and I improve.”

Holt’s perspective is prudent. One week, he can be the top seed at a tournament—like he was at this summer’s Hall of Fame Open in Newport, R.I., and again this week at the Lincoln (Ne.) Challenger. The next week, he can be unseeded, playing qualies, or anywhere in between.

Mitchell Krueger, who has competed alongside Holt at many Challenger Tour events this year, takes a similar approach. In competition constantly—unable to pick and choose his tour stops, to make a living—he can’t afford to get too high or low. The 241^st-ranked American can only do one thing: embrace the challenge.

“It’s certainly not glamorous all the time,” Krueger says from Newport, one of his favorite ATP Challenger Tour events. “We’re not often playing at a place like this.

“You just got to take it in stride. I’m 31 years old, I’ve been around the block compared to some of these younger guys that are going through it for the first time or two. I know how to handle it.”

On Tuesday night in Lincoln, with less than 10 people watching in the stands, Holt celebrates a victory over Aryan Shah with a yell that echoes across the cavernous courts. Shah, a 19-year-old who retires trailing 4-1 in the third, is one of those countless “younger guys,” and just starting his professional journey.

Holt is hardly an elder statesman on the ATP Challenger Tour, but he’s a veteran when it comes to the circuit. He knows it’s all part of the process.

Best known for being the son of legendary player Tracy Austin, Holt is carving his own career, through his own effort. Lincoln is his 31^st tournament in 42 weeks.

“She did have a huge impact on my development as a tennis player,” Holt says, “but maybe not as much as you may expect.”

“I’ve achieved things that I never really thought. Just giving 100 percent effort and being on the journey is what I love so much about tennis now.”