Quick Chat: Trent Bryde
February 16, 2020 | Men's Tennis, The Frierson Files
By John Frierson
Staff Writer
Playing tennis at a very high level has allowed Georgia sophomore Trent Bryde to see the world. He played in the junior edition of all four Grand Slam championships, he also played in China, Argentina and more, and all those experiences, he said during a Quick Chat last week, have helped shape who he is today.
Bryde, from Suwanee, Ga., is off to a very good start this spring. Playing No. 1 singles for the Bulldogs, he already has several high-quality wins and last week was named the SEC Player of the Week after beating Texas' No. 2-ranked Yuya Ito.
During our chat, Bryde talked about playing well, seeing the world, his entrepreneurial spirit and much more. Here's some of what he had to say:
Frierson: I grew up about 200 yards from where we're sitting right now, so these courts were like my playground and Georgia's players were like big brothers or uncles. When did you first become aware of Georgia tennis?
Bryde: Growing up, obviously you hear about it all the time. Georgia tennis is one of the most historic athletic programs in the country, and just being able to be a part of it has been such a great journey thus far. And I'm excited about the memories and history that hopefully we can add while I'm here.
I came during the NCAAs one year — it was tough for me because I was often traveling for tournaments, so while they had NCAAs here I was usually out of the country or something. I'd always follow it online and follow the livestreams and seeing the atmosphere, I knew I wanted to come to school here.
Frierson: Speaking of being out of the country, you've played at all the Grand Slams and you've seen a lot of the world already. Are you kind of blown away that tennis has taken you all over the world?
Bryde: Oh, sure. When I started in middle school, I did one year of middle school and then I went to a three-day-a-week school and then I started doing home school in eighth grade because I was just traveling so much.
To me, I've become so mature not through the experiences of school, because I didn't really have that, but the experiences I've had in different cultures and being more empathetic and understanding, seeing different ways of life, it goes beyond tennis. Being able to see all these different things and being able to grow up from those seeing those different perspectives has been absolutely amazing to me. And it's all because of tennis.
I'm just so grateful from the standpoint of my outlook on life — yeah, it's been a blessing.
Frierson: That's well said. Is there one place you've visited where you were like, I'm going to come back here one day, not because of tennis but because I want to see and explore all of this place?
Bryde: Probably one of my favorite places was Milan. I would say Italy just itself was one of my favorite countries that I've been to, so I would say I want to go back to Italy and not just be in Milan but go to Rome and Capri and all these other places. I think that would be beautiful and so fun.
Frierson: If you could steal one shot from any tennis player ever, whose shot would you steal?
Bryde: Well, the easy answer is John Isner's serve, you know. I'm sure that would help my ranking a little bit. ... It's absolutely incredible, I don't see how people (return) it.
Frierson: Do you have a creative side? Is there anything creative you do or wish you could do?
Bryde: I'd say off-court, one thing that's interesting is I have kind of an entrepreneurial spirit and I like to find different ways to help people and turn things into businesses and make money. In my free time, I just love doing that and I feel like I learn a lot from it.
When I was 16 I started a company actually around tennis, so I hired three of my really good friends and we helped younger players and parents as well and we helped guide them to get to the level that we were at and to the college level and professional level. That was really interesting, that was really cool.
Unfortunately, when I got to school I had to cut it because of NCAA rules.
Frierson: Is that something you'd like to continue once your playing days are done or might you consider coaching one day?
Bryde: It's tough for me to see myself being a coach, I don't know if I have the patience for it, but I'd definitely like to do something entrepreneurial. Even when I'm playing (professionally), you're working hard and playing 9-to-5 but you still got five hours before you go to bed. Some people watch their Netflix and watch their "House of Cards" and I kind of want to learn and build my horizon of knowledge in different things.
Frierson: You've obviously played a lot of really good tennis this year, so what's the biggest difference in you now versus a year ago?
Bryde: I think I put a lot of really good, hard work in. I had a really good summer after last year — I had the back injury and I was out for two months and then I didn't get a whole lot of practice because we were in season (last spring). I got like one, two weeks of practice and then it was like every weekend. ...
I had a pretty solid fall and then just worked really hard this offseason, this December, and it's just clearly paid off. I've been working my tail off these last two months and it's paying off.
(This Q&A was lightly edited for length and clarity.)
John Frierson is the staff writer for the UGA Athletic Association and curator of the ITA Men's Tennis Hall of Fame. You can find his work at: Frierson Files. He's also on Twitter: @FriersonFiles and @ITAHallofFame.
Players Mentioned
