Michael Zheng channels Ivy League balancing act into rapidly blossoming pro tennis future

Michael Zheng always knew he wanted to further his education, even after reaching the 2022 Wimbledon boys’ singles final as an unseeded junior. There was no bluffing for the poker enthusiast.

“I felt like I just wasn’t ready,” he tells TENNIS.com when reflecting on his decision not to turn pro at 18 and instead pursue an NCAA pathway at Columbia University.

Just over three years later, his gut has all but paid off.

🖥️📲 Stream Zheng's bid to win the Sioux Falls Challenger live on the Tennis Channel app!

Coming into mid-October, Zheng is riding a 15-match win streak on the ATP Challenger Tour. Having captured his maiden title at Chicago in August, the 21-year-old picked up two more hard-court crowns in Columbus and Tiburon after winning a round of qualifying at the US Open.

“I feel like my serve has gotten a lot better, so I'm getting a few more free points. I think just a little bit of everything has been kind of clicking and just playing with confidence. It's been working,” he says. “Every week is a little bit different. I think that was something I struggled with before the last couple of years, but I've been doing a better job with that.”

Howard “Howie” Endelman, head coach of Columbia’s men’s tennis program, attributes Zheng’s progression to making the most of the overall college experience.

“I just think that he's really embraced the opportunity to be a college tennis player and to work on his game. At the same time, he's also furthering his academic career, and meeting new people, and kind of using tennis as a vehicle to create opportunities in all parts of his life,” believes Endelman.

“He's always been really tough from the ground, with terrific defense and excellent hands. I think tennis-wise, his serve has improved tremendously. His forehand has become a terrific weapon. His backhand has gotten better. He's coming forward.”

Endelman first became aware of Zheng’s potential when, as a young high schooler, he faced Columbia’s Shawn Hadavi at an open tournament in New York City. While Hadavi walked off the court with the win, he informed Endelman that “this guy's going to be really good, really good,” planting the seed to monitor with extra interest.

Zheng is a first-generation American, the son of immigrants from the Hubei area of China that eventually landed on building IT careers. Born in Chesapeake, Va., Zheng was sent to the family’s homeland to live with his father’s sister before returning to Montville, N.J. when he was two. By six, Zheng was on a tennis court with dad Joe and older sister Amy—and the rest is history for the kid soon making regular commutes to train at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, home of the US Open.

“My dad was the one driving me around and kind of laid the ground rules if you want to be the best you can be. He had faith in me that I could be a really good player and I trusted that,” recalls Zheng. “I worked with that belief of having your family behind you. It wasn't that hard.

“Both my parents, I know they had a much tougher life than me for sure.”

As Endelman learned more about Zheng’s backstory, it only captivated him more. When it came time for the five-star recruit to select a program, what Endleman and Columbia could offer won out over Stanford.

Columbia has been one of the best decisions I've made. Howie and all the coaching staff that I've worked with there, the strength staff, the athletic department, they've been super supportive. I've had so much time to develop and it's one of the reasons why I think I've been on this run so far. Michael Zheng

In his freshman campaign, Zheng nabbed Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year honors in a breakout season that earned him a trip to the NCAA championships. The following year, he built on that success by making a run to the NCAA singles final. As a junior, he entered the history books as Columbia’s first NCAA singles champion of the modern era, ending a program drought dating back to 1906.

“He has an even keeled personality. Even when things go wrong, which they always do in tennis and in life, he always kind of takes it in stride,” Endelman says of Zheng. “He has a really, really nice way about him. I actually love his sense of humor. He has a way of busting my chops a little bit, and the other guys on the team. I just like how he's got kind of a quiet confidence and composure, and how respectful he is to everyone.”

The trajectory seems even more impressive when considering the push and pull of being on court and in the classroom at an Ivy League school. Yet for Zheng, the challenge of the workload and finding time management solutions served as the impetus to continually scale new heights.

“I think an underrated aspect is academics. People think it's super hard, but I think it actually makes you better, I think, when you have to kind of balance everything together at the same time,” he says. “It's when you're traveling for these events, you have so much downtime, so something to take your mind off the tennis, I think, just helps you perform better on court.”

A psychology major on track to graduate next spring, Zheng enjoys playing poker in his spare time. “I think it's a fun game, just training the mental side,” he says.

The exercise has seemingly rubbed off. Beginning 2025 outside of the ATP's Top 750, the rising senior finds himself ranked No. 181 as the No. 7 seed at this week’s $160,000 MarketBeat Open in Sioux Falls, S.D, which is part of the USTA's Australian Open Wild Card Challenge series. It’s a position that will allow him to test the waters in Grand Slam qualifying for the first time outside of the U.S. at the beginning of next year, and should he maintain his run of form on the Challenger scene over the next month, a Melbourne main-draw wild card awaits as possible icing on the cake.

“I would say I was surprised, for sure, that it happened so fast. I knew the level was there, but at the same time, I feel like at these events, all the players are so good,” he says of the competition.

“I think one of the biggest takeaways is just the physicality. A lot of people don't really see the week in, week out grind. A lot of these players are doing three, four, five, six weeks in a row on the road. You have to be there physically and mentally.”

it just kind of hit me what it had taken for Michael's parents, May and Joe, to come to the US from a small village in mainland China and create this incredible family. Howard Endelman

By this point, nothing Zheng accomplishes surprises Endelman. Emotions trickle into his voice when thinking about sharing this chapter together, one where Zheng’s historic NCAA title came weeks after Endelman lost his father. The value of remembering one’s roots is clear to the college coach, who won’t limit Zheng’s potential ceiling when the time comes to fly the nest for good.

“The sacrifices that this family had to make to give Michael the chance to even have the opportunity to compete at this level, it's just astounding. They're just very special, kind, compassionate, unselfish, and caring people,” he states.

“Then to his credit, Michael's just quietly gone out and does his work every day. He doesn't make a big scene. He won the NCAAs. He's a three-time All-American already and also was an academic All-American this past year. And he won the Rafael Osuna National Sportsmanship Award. I don't think that triple crown has ever happened. So he's just a really impressive young man, and he's made all of us at Columbia University incredibly proud.”

When asked to sum up a personal scouting report, Zheng responds, “I don't try to overplay too much, but when chances come, I take them.”

As one might say in those key moments, he’s all in.