![\"Michael](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/zheng-australian-open-2026-feature-graphic.jpg\")
<\/p>\n It All Adds Up
\n The incredible story of Michael Zheng: Ivy League student competing in the Australian Open<\/p>\n
How the Columbia University star balances a rigorous academic workload with playing elite tennis<\/p>\n
January 17, 2026<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
ATP<\/p>\n
Michael Zheng is competing in his first major main draw at the Australian Open.
\n By Andrew Eichenholz<\/p>\n
Michael Zheng<\/a> will take five courses this spring semester at Columbia University in New York, where he is a senior. The 21-year-old is soon to graduate from the Ivy League institution, one of the most prestigious schools in the world.<\/p>\n But even though school begins on 20 January, that will not be his focus this week. Instead, the student-athlete is on the other side of the world competing in a major main draw for the first time at the Australian Open<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cRight now, I’m really excited,\u201d Zheng, a qualifier, told ATPTour.com. \u201cAnd relieved to get through that and get the chance to play my first main draw.\u201d<\/p>\n A year ago, that was more than improbable. Zheng was the reigning NCAA men\u2019s singles champion, but still outside the Top 700 in the PIF ATP Rankings. Yet he has balanced a rigorous education \u2014 earning Academic All-American honours as well as the Rafael Osuna<\/a> National Sportsmanship Award in 2025 \u2014 and college tennis with proving he can compete with the best players in the world. <\/p>\n Zheng has long shown ability, dating back to when his father, Joe, decided to introduce Michael and his older sister by two years, Amy, to the sport at their local high school. Joe, who moved to the United States from China, fell in love with the sport upon his arrival and passed it along to his children.<\/p>\n Growing up in New Jersey, Zheng spent three days a week during middle school training at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, home of the US Open<\/a>. And by the end of his junior career, the American reached the 2022 Wimbledon<\/a> boys\u2019 singles final, beating Coleman Wong<\/a> and Martin Landaluce<\/a> along the way.<\/p>\n \u201cI had some talent, so he wanted to see how far he could take it,\u201d Zheng said of his father. \u201cAnd now we’re here playing my first main draw [of a major]. It\u2019s been quite a tournament.\u201d<\/p>\n But it has been an atypical one. Zheng is an active college student who in the coming days has to prepare for psychology courses in the New York winter. Instead, he is heating up in the Australian summer. The humble student does not make a big deal of it, but Ivy League coursework is difficult enough on its own.<\/p>\n “The academic rigour has helped Michael in many ways, especially mentally,\u201d said Howard Endelman<\/a>, the head coach of men\u2019s tennis at Columbia. \u201cThe schoolwork is complementary; It allows Michael to focus and develop aspects of his life outside of tennis. Although it might be counter-intuitive, this combination has helped Michael develop as a complete person which has actually helped his tennis.”<\/p>\n According to Zheng, Endelman emphasises this message consistently.<\/p>\n \u201cYou learn how to manage your time and in the pressure moments, I think you can manage a little bit better, because you put all that work in and at the same time, you’re balancing school,\u201d Zheng said. \u201cI think it just gives you that little bit of a mental edge, that you’re doing maybe a little bit more than these other guys, and at the same time, your level is there.\u201d<\/p>\n What makes his moment in the spotlight Sunday against Sebastian Korda<\/a> at Melbourne Park more impressive is how he got there. Not only did he work his way through a tough qualifying draw, but made a big run to earn his place in qualifying in the first place.<\/p>\n In early June, Zheng was still outside the world\u2019s Top 700. But a run to the ATP Challenger final in Little Rock began a huge surge, with titles in Chicago, Columbus and Tiburon showing it was no fluke.<\/p>\n![\"\u201cATP\"\/](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1767418027_359_atp-no-1-club-banner-article.jpg\")
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