Master’s student Breno Marques’ tennis journey brought him to his fifth season at the University of North Florida. 

Coming from Brazil, where soccer is the dominant sport, Marques found an interest in tennis, a sport that no one he knew had ever played. 

At the start

Marques’s tennis journey started at just nine years old. His uncle gifted his brother a tennis racquet, but he had no interest in it. So, Marques picked up the racquet and began hitting tennis balls off the wall. 

“My mom would get so mad at me, but she noticed I had a real interest in it, an addiction even,” said Marques. 

At that point, Marques’ parents started looking for a tennis coach. Marques began training with a coach when he was nine, and stayed with the same coach until he was thirteen years old, when he decided to make a move into tennis.

Getting serious

After the age of thirteen, Marques began to take tennis seriously. He would move around every couple of years to attend different tennis academies, and even attended one in Rio, Brazil, for two months. 

During this time, Marques was making huge strides in furthering his tennis career. 

“When I was seventeen years old, I won the biggest national tournament we have back at home under eighteen, and it was the best tournament I have ever won in my life,” said Marques. “Most of the best tennis players in the country were playing, and I won.”

Signing to Osprey Tennis

When deciding where to go to school, Marques had a few qualities he wanted to factor into the decision. 

“I wanted to go somewhere in the States that reminded me of home,” said Marques. 

When he visited the campus for the first time, Marques fell in love with the campus beauty as well as how close it is to Jacksonville Beach. The coach made him a signing offer he could not refuse, and Marques was ready to make a name for himself. 

Before his first year started, he was determined to make a spot in the starting six for singles. He also knew when signing that he did not want to be the best player wherever he was going; he wanted to learn from his teammates and grow as the seasons went on. 

Heartbreak on the court

During the 2024 season, Marques suffered from a lateral meniscus tear and ended up having to get surgery in September of that year. Marques was then off the court for over a year, not returning until October 2025. 

“It was the first time I have had to step away,” said Marques. “Getting injured is not one of the worst things, but it’s not the best. It’s a process of being able to trust your body and trust that you can get back to the level you once were.”

While sitting out, Marques learned a lot about resilience. He would try to focus on ways to better his team from the sidelines. Because the injury happened during his senior year, Marques had to redshirt, which allowed him one more year of play at UNF. 

“Mentally it was very challenging, it was hard times, but I came out of it stronger,” said Marques. 

Happy Times as an Osprey

Within the time Marques has spent as an Osprey so far, his favorite thing about the team is how supportive they are. Tennis is usually seen as an individual sport, but in the college environment, it is seen as more of a collective effort. 

“There’s a chance you win your match, but your team loses, and it’s almost like it doesn’t matter that you won,” said Marques. “It is interesting coming from worrying about only yourself to worrying about everyone on your team.”

From all the memories he’s made so far, nothing beats the bus ride home from winning the ASUN conference in 2024. Marques spent six hours on the ride back from the conference to UNF and did not sleep the whole way back. 

“I held the trophy for the entire trip, and we were playing songs and dancing, it was awesome,” said Marques. 

Looking Ahead

For the rest of the season, Marques has one goal in mind: to stay healthy. 

“I don’t really like to set numbers or wins, I don’t like that because it adds pressure, and there’s enough pressure in the sport itself,” said Marques. 

As a team, they want to be a team that surprises everyone. To win the ASUN conference two years in a row is a huge goal the team has. But, at the end of the day, Marques wants everyone to have fun and stay healthy. 

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