The tough mental flip Ethan Quinn is learning to make since joining the ATP's Top 100

PHOENIX—When Ethan Quinn arrived to play the Phoenix Challenger last week, he was simply yearning for the opportunity to step on court again.

The 22-year-old had just come off a narrow defeat to compatriot Reilly Opelka in the opening round of the BNP Paribas Open. Outside of his third-round run at the Australian Open, where he knocked out Tallon Griekspoor and Hubert Hurkacz in straight sets, Quinn’s weeks in the early goings of the 2026 season had ended with two or fewer matches (including qualifying).

The former NCAA champion broke into the Top 100 last June following Roland Garros, where he competed six times after coming through the qualifying stages. The road to becoming an ATP-level player is built on playing—and winning—a lot of matches.

Once you get to the Top 100, you’re in main draws directly and sometimes consistently winning a first round and getting enough points is perceived to be a good week. That’s a tough flip to make in your head. Ethan Quinn

Once there, the frequency of court time greatly decreases until one makes an even larger climb up the rankings. For an elite athlete accustomed to getting regular reps and information about their game, the adjustment is a challenge all its own.

“Something that a lot of players don’t speak about is when you’re playing Challengers and doing well, you’re constantly playing three, four, five matches a week. That’s the idea of a good week. Even when you’re playing ATP qualies, a good week is qualifying in and winning your first round,” Quinn lays out to TENNIS.com.

“Once you get to the Top 100, you’re in main draws directly and sometimes consistently winning a first round and getting enough points is perceived to be a good week. That’s a tough flip to make in your head.”

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The loss to Opelka marked Quinn’s 11^th match of the year when factoring in qualifying. When he departed the California desert 12 months earlier, the Fresno, Calif. native had played 25 matches across the board.

“It’s a really difficult thing to get in your brain. Thirty points to win a first round, versus in Challengers five or six points to win one. The terms are just different,” he says.

“At Indian Wells, I could have played a great or terrible match against Reilly, but you don’t actually get to see where you’re at. When I lost that match, I was like, I really want to come to Phoenix and get a chance to see where my level is. I was looking forward to coming here when we saw it on the schedule.”

Entering the Arizona Tennis Classic also afforded Quinn an extra source of motivation. For the first time, the stars aligned for his sports psychologist Derin McMains to see him compete in person.

A mental performance consultant local to the area, McMains and Quinn huddle once or twice a month depending on factors like time zones and scheduling commitments. Sessions typically run 45 to 60 minutes on FaceTime and aren’t always about what’s happening on the baseline.

“Sometimes it’s about other mental cues that can help get me in the right frame of mind, right way to compete. There’s tournaments like Indian Wells where there’s a lot more obligations outside of the tennis court. Being able to handle all of that adversary is something that I really appreciate from him,” says Quinn.

“He works with the Arizona Diamondbacks and a plethora of professional athletes. Hearing his expertise when it comes to not just tennis, but problems that other athletes have, is really nice to discuss with him.”

McMains couldn’t have picked a better week to see his influence in action. After dropping his opening set of the tournament to Alexander Shevchenko, Quinn caught fire at the standout ATP Challenger 175 event he treated the same as being at an ATP Masters 1000 tournament.

The eighth seed won nine consecutive sets, including one that saw him stave off six set points against Benjamin Bonzi in the quarterfinals. He ultimately held off Marcos Giron, fighting off two break points at 5-5 in their decider before denying his fellow American a shot at leveling for one final shootout 'breaker.

“A lot of players that are in my shoes are here to play matches as well. It’s not an easier tournament. You’re still playing guys who were in Indian Wells last week,” he says.

“I want to make sure that I’m respecting my opponents, whether it’s Carlos [Alcaraz] or a guy ranked 600, you have to treat him with the same understanding that he can beat you.”

The momentum carried over to his turnaround at the Miami Open. With 2021 champion Hurkacz having revenge on his mind, the Boca Raton, Fla. resident—holding a new career-high ranking of No. 56—convincingly advanced with a 6-2, 6-4 victory.

Our chat ended talking coffee and what to order in different tour cities. While Quinn loves his vanilla lattes, there’s nothing vanilla about where he’s at right now.