University of Georgia Athletics
Quick Chat: Morgan Coppoc
February 27, 2020 | Women's Tennis, The Frierson Files
By John Frierson
Staff Writer
Long before Morgan Coppoc arrived in Athens and joined the Georgia women's tennis team, the junior from Tulsa, Okla., had experienced plenty through her sport. She had played around the world, including in the junior editions of the French Open, Wimbledon and U.S. Open, and she had learned plenty from both the tennis and the travel.
During a recent Quick Chat before No. 9 Georgia opens SEC play on Saturday against No. 23 Tennessee at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex, Coppoc talked about seeing the world, about what she loves about home, choosing tennis over gymnastics and much more. Here's some of what she had to say:Â
Frierson: Do you remember the first time you picked up a tennis racket?
Coppoc: I kind of do. I was three or four and I was with my mom and her friends from their ladies' league. I just picked up a racket and started swinging it around.
Frierson: When did you first know that you not only loved the sport but that you also had a future in it beyond just playing in local tournaments?
Coppoc: When I was growing up I also did gymnastics and so I loved that. But then I also was doing tennis once a week, but it was gymnastics mainly. I remember not enjoying gymnastics as much as I was before, this was when I was nine or 10, and I remember I quit gymnastics and started playing tennis four times a week. That was pretty serious for back then.
Frierson: Tennis is one of those sports, like gymnastics or swimming, where if you're good enough and fortunate enough, it can take you around the world. What has it been like to see the world through tennis?
Coppoc: It's been an amazing experience. I feel very blessed to be able to have traveled as much as I have, all over Europe and South America. Although it was mainly for tennis and I was there to play tournaments, and maybe I didn't see the normal tourist attractions, or as many of them, I think it gave me a different perspective on different cultures and taught me about interacting with different people.
Frierson: Is there one place you can't wait to go back to and explore a lot more when you don't have to be on the court three hours a day?
Coppoc: I loved a lot of Europe — can I say one for each continent [laughs]?
Frierson: You can say whatever you want.
Coppoc: I think in South America, I'd really want to go back to Peru, I loved Lima, and that was probably my favorite there. And then in Europe, I loved London and everything that I saw there. Also, Paris and Prague — and I loved Italy, too, so much! It's hard to choose just one.
Frierson: Tulsa is one of those cities that I know exists, that it has a pretty large population (around 400,000) and I'm sure it's got a ton of things going for it — but I have no mental image of it and I don't think I could tell you one fact about Tulsa. What comes to mind when you think of Tulsa?
Coppoc: Um, cows [laughs]. It's developed a lot in the last few years but I remember growing up, because I've lived there since I was three, in my neighborhood, there's now a Target where this pasture used to be. [Laughs.] Before it was a Target, it was a field full of cows, and so growing up and going to school, going to tennis, you'd always drive by and see the cows.
It's definitely flat, but there are some hills, I guess Tulsa is more of the hilly part of Oklahoma but it's still not that hilly. The sunrises and sunsets are beautiful. There's the Arkansas River and that's fun to go mudding on [laughs], like, in a car. Do you know what that is?
Frierson: No, but my guess is that it involves taking a 4-wheel-drive vehicle out on a muddy riverbank. I don't think I knew that was a thing.
Coppoc: Yeah, it's a thing in Oklahoma, I guess [laughs].Â
Frierson: In a perfect world, what are you doing 10 years from now?
Coppoc: Oh, gosh, I'll be 30, almost 31. Hopefully, I'm working a job that I love going to every day, or however often it is [laughs]. Hopefully, I'm just surrounded by people that I love and continuing to live my life for Christ.
I don't really know what 10 years from now holds but I just hope I'm enjoying life and living it to the fullest.
(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
