Nathan Ponwith’s first try at a senior season with ASU men's tennis did not go as planned.
The former top-20 ITF junior and SEC freshman of the year was sidelined by a nerve injury in his shoulder for much of the 2019-20 season, one that head coach Matt Hill said took several months to properly diagnose.
The injury limited him to just two matches in both singles and doubles play. After being “really hesitant” in his initial return to the court, according to Hill, Ponwith went 0-4 in total.
The COVID-19 pandemic eventually ended the collegiate tennis season and also suspended play on the professional tour, where Ponwith had planned to begin his professional career.
“It was hard to see a guy who's worked so hard, and gotten his level up to a level that we all felt was ready to go onto the tour, get hurt,” Hill said. “And then, as he was working so hard to get healthy, have the season cut short and then have the pro tour kind of come to a halt as well.”
The circumstances left Ponwith at a crossroads, but despite receiving a variety of advice, he decided it was best for him to return to ASU.
“Nate made it very clear that he wanted to come back and he wanted to, in his eyes, kind of finish the right way,” Hill said. “He's from here. He grew up here. So, he wants to leave here with a legacy that he did something really special. He doesn't feel like he's accomplished that yet.”
The results have justified his decision thus far, as Ponwith was recently named Pac-12 Player of the Week and is currently 6-0 in singles and 5-1 in doubles.
“It's always nice to get an award or recognition here and there, but most of all, it's nice just to be playing,” Ponwith said. “I feel like I'm playing pretty well. There's still a long way to go.”
But Ponwith didn’t just waltz into his early-season success. He spent several months last summer and all of last December training alongside two top professionals and close friends of his: world No. 53 Tommy Paul and world No. 38 Reilly Opelka.
“For him to see them on the training court working at the rate that they're working at, he was like, ‘Wow, usually we're all off the court joking around,’” Hill said. “These guys aren't playing. They’re going to work.”
Thanks in part to that experience, which included a helpful serving tip from Opelka, one of the world’s most explosive servers, Ponwith returned to the court this season an improved player across the board.
“I've grown a lot,” Ponwith said. “Since my injury to where I'm at now, I think my serve, and I think my return and just my physicality on-court has improved.”
Hill added that Ponwith’s “finishing at the net” has developed significantly, as well.
“(He’s grown in) how to anticipate and see the court and when to climb up the court and take court position away from someone, and even have the confidence and comfortability with going to the net and finishing a point off,” Hill said. “That was something that he really didn't do at all when he came here.”
That skill set is particularly valuable in doubles, where Ponwith had been dominant with freshman Max McKennon, winning four straight matches as a pair before McKennon suffered an injury.
"He helps guide me a little bit — some ins and outs, what to do, what not to do," McKennon said. "Playing doubles with him my freshman year of college, that's a great thing; that's helped me and will help me in the future for sure."
While Ponwith has never lacked competitive fire, his drive may be turned up another notch given the misfortune of last season, Hill said.
“It's definitely fuel to him,” Hill said. “He's very motivated and very dialed in. But that's kind of how that guy operates. He’s got a different motor than most guys.”
For Ponwith, who plans to join the professional tour after this season, the gravity of the moment and the opportunity he has been afforded is not lost.
“I don't have the time or the luxury to not appreciate going out and playing,” Ponwith said.
Reach the reporter at cbreber@asu.edu and follow @carsobi on Twitter.
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