Representing five different home countries, the Georgia men’s tennis team is composed of many backgrounds, reflecting a broader trend across college tennis. With players and coaches coming from Argentina, Italy, Switzerland, Turkey and the United Kingdom along with a few from the United States, men’s tennis is one of Georgia’s most globally diverse rosters.

“All of my teammates are from different places, so different cultures come together,” graduate student Arda Azkara said. “It can be challenging at times and not everyone is going to agree with the same stuff, but you’re learning from them as well. We’re helping each other stay connected.”

Azkara graduated from the University of New Mexico, but he was born and raised in Izmir, Turkey. Azkara also represents his home country in tennis; in September he represented Turkey in a Davis Cup World Group 1 tie against Serbia. He described it as one of the best experiences he’s ever had in tennis.

“I felt very honored,” he said. “My family was very proud, I was very proud of myself and extremely happy and I want to do it again.”

Azkara said he chose Georgia because of the competition and the environment of the SEC. Despite his success at New Mexico and being named Mountain West Player of the Year for two straight years, he was hungry for more. 

“The competition here is stronger and there are more challenging players,” Azkara said.”Every player is fighting until the end and you’re putting in a lot more work here. You have more resources and a player can easily get better and have a stronger environment with other teams in the SEC.”

Not too far from Turkey is Rome, Italy, where sophomore Gabriele Vulpitta hails from. Tennis is one of the most popular sports in Italy, and Vulpitta was exposed to it from a young age. During his tennis career in Rome, he held a Universal Tennis Rating of 13.23 and competed in the 2023 Roland Garros junior doubles final, later winning a Wimbledon Juniors Doubles title. 

The UK is represented by two players on the roster: Derrick Chen and Will Jansen. Chen is a graduate student from the city of Cambridge, just north of London. Chen graduated from the University of California Berkeley last year. Now for the Bulldogs, he has competed in almost every tournament in the fall season. Jansen, a senior transfer, is from London. Prior to Georgia, Jansen spent time at Ohio State and North Carolina. While in London, he was ranked as the No. 1 junior in the UK in every age group under 18u. 

Outside of Europe, Argentina also sees representation on the Bulldogs’ roster. Senior Santiago Giamichelle is a transfer student from Central Florida, but he was born and raised in Buenos Aires. Also from Argentina is assistant coach Bruno Tiberti, who grew up in Switzerland but later returned to Argentina to play tennis. Tiberti is in his sixth year of coaching tennis, but his first at Georgia.

“I am getting used to understanding different cultures,” he said. “I’m getting used to a different way to resolve problems and a different way to take criticism or feedback. It’s an ongoing process to keep learning.”

Because tennis is an internationally driven sport, college rosters often reflect that global reach. Georgia has four players from Europe, one from South America and just two from the United States. Tiberti said international recruiting has always been a priority for him.

As a former international player himself, Tiberti is able to connect with the players on a different level. He said he mainly notices a difference among the international players in their skills based on the environment they are used to and the type of courts they play on.

“When they come to college, everything is mostly played on hard courts. Players on our team have played on grass, clay and every surface, and there is a difference.”

Knowing how difficult it is to be away from homes spread all across the globe, Tiberti wants fans to understand that it is not only a struggle, but it is a sacrifice for the school and the team.

“They are far from their family, and even though they have everything they need it is not a struggle, but a sacrifice to be away from their families,” he said.