Junior Player Spotlight: Blake Friedman, SPORTIME/John McEnroe Tennis Academy

Like a lot of kids, Blake Friedman played many different sports growing up. Baseball, golf and soccer were just some of the activities the Syosset native participated in when he was younger; but it was tennis that really stood out to him.

Friedman, now 15, has been around tennis since he was three years old, although he didn’t begin taking the sport seriously until he was 11. He learned to embrace the challenge of tennis where the responsibility ultimately rests solely with the player.

“I like the individual aspect of the sport,” Friedman said. “I have no one to blame. It’s all on me. If I play well, I win. If I play bad, I lose.”

That mentality has become increasingly important as Friedman’s commitment to tennis has grown. Today, he trains at SPORTIME Syosset, the Long Island annex of the John McEnroe Tennis Academy (JMTA) where he puts in more than 20 hours each week between on-court training and off-court fitness.

It was on the SPORTIME courts that his love of tennis really began to take shape. He first got the inspiration to play tennis thanks to watching his older brother, Skylar, play, and attending the U.S. Open with his family every summer. Watching tennis led him to want to play more, and so he continued playing SPORTIME where they nurtured his passion for the sport.

Those early experiences ushered in his motivation to pursue the sport more seriously. That’s when he began training with Mike Kossoff, the Regional Director for JMTA Long Island & Director of Tennis at SPORTIME Syosset, and Eric Meditz, JMTA’s Associate Director & Director of Player Development.

It’s that commitment from Friedman, and the advanced training from two of SPORTIME’s premier instructors that have helped Friedman’s game elevate significantly in a short period of time. Three years ago, he had a UTR just north of 2; that jumped up to 4.98 a year later, and then to 6.5 last year. Now, Friedman’s UTR sits over an 8.

“I started working with Mike and Eric and every aspect of my game has improved,” Friedman explains. “They really took me to the next level. I’m a completely different player from the time I started working with them. It’s not really one singular thing in my game that I’d say has changed. I feel like everything has improved substantially.”

A major reason for that rapid improvement and continued success is the willingness of both parties in the coach-player relationship to put in as much work as necessary. It’s a character trait that Friedman has had since he can remember, and the only way he knows how to approach his tennis. He comes from a family of high-level athletes who know what it takes in order to get to the highest level. His dad was an academic all-American and three-time captain of the Harvard wrestling team. He has two uncles who were world-class wrestlers, also at Harvard, one of whom was an NCAA Champion and University World Champion. His grandfather, Don Jantzen, is a member of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. Friedman also has two aunts who were Division 1 All-American and NCAA Champion field hockey players.

“My family has really inspired me, and shown me the path to reach the highest level of sports and what it takes to get there,” Friedman said.

And Friedman has coaches who are willing to put in that time with him. Instead of simply clocking in and clocking out, Kossoff and Meditz are there whenever he needs. There was a specific example of this recently when he played a tournament over Labor Day Weekend.

“He came back from the tournament, and wanted to talk about how he did, and what his goals would be going forward this fall,” Blake’s father Joel said. “Mike said, ‘I can come in tomorrow if you want.’ And so at 9:00 in the morning on Labor Day, Mike and Blake sat down in the SPORTIME office for more than an hour to talk about things. It shows the kind of commitment they have to Blake’s game, and it’s why they deserve a huge chunk of the credit. Mike and Eric both have kids of their own, their own responsibilities, but they treat Blake as one of their own.”

Kossoff added:

“Blake is one of those kids you love coaching because the drive comes from him, not from anyone standing over him. He’s intrinsically motivated in a way that’s rare at his age—he’s never satisfied with ‘good enough’, and even after a big jump he immediately looks for the next thing to tighten up. That hunger to keep improving, no matter how well things are going, is what makes him a joy to work with day after day.”

This fall, Friedman is leaning further into that commitment to tennis. In order to free up his schedule to train more, and have more flexibility for tournament travel, he will be moving his studies online and attending the Dwight Global Online School. It has become a top choice for a lot of similar-minded athletes, especially tennis players, because of its ability to offer top-end academics while allowing its students to pursue their passions.

“We did a lot of research, and decided that Dwight was the perfect mix of academics and flexibility,” said Friedman. “Having a good education is extremely important to me and my family, so being able to not sacrifice that while still pursuing my tennis goals was the reason we decided to move to Dwight. You never know, one day you could get injured and that derails your career. So having a good education to fall back on was very important.”

When he isn’t playing tennis, he is probably watching it. He watches nearly every tour-level event, and even tunes in to Challenger tournaments when he can. Friedman has become a tennis junkie of sorts, and it shows in his development.

As a lefty, he of course found Rafael Nadal a suitable player to look up to, and read his memoir to learn more about the unflinching mentality that the Spaniard brought to the court. Now, Friedman’s favorite player on tour is Carlos Alcaraz.

Friedman now sets his sights on the future. After aging out of the 14-and-under division, he’s looking toward higher-level competition. He hopes to work his way toward competing in L1 tournaments in the coming months.

For now, the emphasis remains on development rather than chasing a particular number.

“I’m trying to limit ranking goals, and just focus on improving my game throughout this year,” he said.

If recent history is any indicator, that improvement will continue to come swiftly. His effort and willingness to learn is something that will never come into question, and Kossoff and the SPORTIME team are excited for what’s next for Friedman.

“That’s why I’m so excited about what’s ahead. The progress he’s made over the last couple of years hasn’t been accidental; it’s the result of that same mindset showing up every session,” Kossoff said. “When a player improves that quickly and still treats every practice like there’s more on the table, the ceiling gets high. He’s built habits that last, and I think we’re just starting to see what that can turn into.”