Columbia alum takes his game global

Jared Drucker has made $643 this year, and just over $1000 in his career. He has spent the past year playing in remote places such as Chandigarh, India, Naucalpan, Mexico, and Santa Tecla, El Salvador. Drucker, currently the world’s No. 1363-ranked tennis player, is living the life of a professional, but no matter how glamorous life may be for the top pros, it is difficult for those at the bottom.

The road to becoming a professional tennis player is arguably the hardest in sports, even more so after a college career, but that was not enough to deter Drucker, CC ’08, from giving it a try. Few obstacles ever have.

“My goal is just to keep improving my game,” said the always humble Drucker. “Pro tennis can be depressing if you focus on points or money, since both are hard to come by. I am just happy if I keep getting better and playing the way I know I am capable of playing.”
Drucker has been playing the international tennis circuit since his graduation in May. While the top ten in the world stay in posh hotels, travel with an entourage of coaches, trainers, and girlfriends, and play in tournaments with seven-figure checks, none of these amenities are afforded to low-ranked players such as Drucker. While the top players gathered in Miami this past week for a tournament with a winner’s check of over half a million dollars, Drucker was in India playing at a $15,000 F2 Futures event. He managed to reach the quarterfinals, his best result to date.

Drucker, a political science major who intends to go to law school when his playing days are over, was ranked as high as No. 38 nationally as a junior, and was a four-year member on the tennis team at Columbia. Drucker’s career as a Lion was highlighted by an Ivy championship in spring 2007 and a berth in the National Indoor Championships in the fall of 2007.

“I didn’t actually intend to play pro tennis when I came to Columbia,” Drucker said via e-mail, “I actually taught at a country club in Long Island after my freshman year in 2005. When I wasn’t able to play as much as I wanted that summer, I realized how much I missed the freedom of practicing and working hard to get better. After that summer, I decided to devote myself to tennis.”

Drucker, a lefty armed with a wicked topspin forehand and a slicing serve, began working with a new coach and a physical trainer in his hometown of Los Angeles. With the training, he was able to revamp his game and get into the best possible shape.

“If I had not started to work with this coach from Los Angeles, I would probably be working or applying to law school right now,” said Drucker.

Drucker played as high as No. 1 on the Lions championship team, and reflected positively on his experiences at the collegiate level.
“College tennis is great,” he said. “There is no way I would have been ready to play professionally without finishing my four years at Columbia. I played over 30 matches a year and was forced to learn how to win, both for myself and the team.”

One major factor in Drucker’s ability to play professional tennis was the guidance offered by men’s tennis coach Bid Goswami.
“Bid has always been very supportive of me,” noted Drucker, “as well as everyone on the team.”

Drucker recalls a story from his senior year when he was battling a painful stress fracture in his wrist, which hindered his play in the fall. He was forced to choose between surgery, which may have ended his senior campaign before it ever started, and playing through the painful injury while missing some practices in order to heal.

“Bid, knowing that I wanted to play pro, told me to get the surgery, even though he knew that I might not be able to play my senior year. I always appreciated that. Luckily, I healed quickly enough to play the second half of the spring semester.”
Goswami also has nothing but positive things to say about Drucker.

“You know, Jared from day one might not have been the greatest athlete,” said the head coach, “but he had this tremendous passion—he really loved tennis.”

In addition to the actual matches and rankings, Goswami believes that Drucker’s adventures will provide invaluable experience.

“Part of an education is to see a country in a different way,” continued Goswami. “Instead of backpacking through Europe, you take a tennis racket and go to Mexico and India. I am almost ashamed to say, but he may have seen more places in India than I have. He traveled and told me that Varanasi is the oldest city in the world, and he learned that in one of his classes at Columbia, and he wanted to go see it. How great of an education is that, making use of a Columbia education in real life.”

Along with Drucker, some of the top players in the Ivy League from other schools have tested out the professional waters.

“I played Adil Shamasdin recently in Texas and lost in three sets—he played No. 1 at Brown my freshman year. Recently, Ashwin Kumar of Harvard [who played No. 1 spring 2008] has decided to play pro tennis.”

Shamasdin is currently ranked No. 816 in singles, and Kumar is ranked No. 1675 in doubles.

One of the hardships of the professional life is the constant travel. Drucker has been all over the globe, and the lifestyle itself can grind a player down.

“I basically live out of a suitcase,” he said.

One thing which has helped, according to Drucker, is the companionship of other American players.

“I travel with a couple other American college players, which makes things interesting and fun,” continued Drucker. “It’s fun to share stories about college tennis and be with guys from my own country when abroad in places like India and El Salvador.”

Drucker achieved his best results as a professional in India, where he made the quarterfinals of a $15,000 event after winning two rounds in the qualifying tournament. In the main draw, Drucker defeated a player ranked 981 and another ranked 681. He was rewarded with three ATP ranking points, the most sought-after prize by a tennis player. In Mexico, Drucker earned another point, beating the world’s No. 680-ranked player.

Drucker has a theory behind his recent successes. He believes the busy life of college may have infringed upon his ability to play at his highest level possible. “I had to split my focus between my classes and tennis so that I could do well in both areas,” Drucker said. “It is a lot easier now to be able to focus on tennis alone, without having to worry about my grades. That singular focus on tennis has allowed me to play my best tennis to date.”

Despite his optimism, Drucker is realistic about his chances and future as a professional tennis player.

“I’d like to keep playing for at least a few more months,” said an honest Drucker, “since I am running out of money. After that, I am thinking of going to law school and will probably study for the LSATs.”

When it comes to the particulars, Drucker has one rather familiar choice already in mind.

“I would really like to go to Columbia Law.”

Drucker has proved his resilience throughout his career, and believes that the intangibles will allow him to continue to compete at the sport’s highest level.

“There is a lot of losing and if you allow your confidence to wane, then it is difficult to win,” he said. “I always believed that I could do well, even after having a poor senior season. Without that self-belief I don’t think I would have had the determination to come back from my surgery or to work through the problems I had with my game towards the end of my senior year and the months leading up to my travels.”

Regardless of what ranking he attains, which players he beats, or when the dream ends, Drucker can take satisfaction in knowing that he laid it all out on the line.

“I am very happy to be able to pursue something that I am very passionate about,” he said. “I’ve never been in a rush to work because I know that I have my whole life to work. No matter what happens in the coming years, I will always know that I played tennis at a high level and always gave 100 percent whether it was on the practice court or during the matches. I have no regrets and I think that is the way anything in life should be.”

Drucker is the 1363rd-best person in the world at something he loves. How many people can say that?