Upcoming Event: Men's Tennis versus PTT on September 21, 2025 at TBA
TBA
Men's Tennis
vs. PTT
Florida Atlantic University Athletics
Photo by: JC Ridley
Tennis Introduced And Guided By Caring Parents
3/24/2025 3:02:00 PM | Men's Tennis
BOCA RATON, Fla. – Senior tennis player John Bernard is the son of two college tennis alumni. His father John played at Radford and his mother Leslie played at Rutgers. Bernard was put into tennis at an early age, beginning to play seriously around the time he was five-years-old. He liked tennis more than any other sport and stuck with it. Having parents that have been in his shoes has helped him tremendously, and he calls it a plus rather than something that gives him any added pressure.
"They have been very instrumental in my tennis career. They know how it feels so they can support me during a tough match or a tough day. Development wise, they always knew what could help me and where I needed to improve."
Bernard started out at Florida State University for his first three years of his college career, taking a redshirt year as a freshman. He had to adjust to the team aspect of college tennis since he was used to playing and traveling individually in junior tennis. However, this aspect made him love college tennis.
"I grew as a person at Florida State, not just as a tennis player, which was very important."
When Bernard was looking to transfer, he felt that living in Boca Raton and having the facilities that FAU can provide was the perfect fit. Bernard started his career at FAU in the 2023-24 season where he started out on courts five and six. In his senior season, he is now on court one.
"Starting out on courts five and six was very helpful. Being able to get a lot of confidence and win a lot of matches helped me a lot."
Being on court one means that match after match, Bernard faces the opponent's top player. While he says it can get mentally exhausting, he also says those matches are a lot of fun especially with how much winning can impact his ranking.
Bernard played his last home tennis match on Sunday, March 23. Before the Owls secured the win on Senior Day, he took some time to reflect on his career at Florida Atlantic. He had mixed emotions, due to being excited for the future but not wanting his college career to end.
"Everyone has been great at FAU, the coaches and the team. They have all supported me a lot and the coaches run a very professional program which has been great. My time at FAU has been 24/7 fun. You love every moment here."
Looking towards his future, Bernard plans on continuing to play tennis in the upcoming year. Although it can be a tough process, he plans on entering tournaments this summer and seeing where the process takes him.
John Bernard and the Florida Atlantic men's tennis team's 2024-25 schedule includes three away matches and the AAC Championships that will begin on Thursday, April 17 in Memphis, Tennessee.Gallery: (3-24-2025) John Bernard
"They have been very instrumental in my tennis career. They know how it feels so they can support me during a tough match or a tough day. Development wise, they always knew what could help me and where I needed to improve."
Bernard started out at Florida State University for his first three years of his college career, taking a redshirt year as a freshman. He had to adjust to the team aspect of college tennis since he was used to playing and traveling individually in junior tennis. However, this aspect made him love college tennis.
"I grew as a person at Florida State, not just as a tennis player, which was very important."
When Bernard was looking to transfer, he felt that living in Boca Raton and having the facilities that FAU can provide was the perfect fit. Bernard started his career at FAU in the 2023-24 season where he started out on courts five and six. In his senior season, he is now on court one.
"Starting out on courts five and six was very helpful. Being able to get a lot of confidence and win a lot of matches helped me a lot."
Being on court one means that match after match, Bernard faces the opponent's top player. While he says it can get mentally exhausting, he also says those matches are a lot of fun especially with how much winning can impact his ranking.
Bernard played his last home tennis match on Sunday, March 23. Before the Owls secured the win on Senior Day, he took some time to reflect on his career at Florida Atlantic. He had mixed emotions, due to being excited for the future but not wanting his college career to end.
"Everyone has been great at FAU, the coaches and the team. They have all supported me a lot and the coaches run a very professional program which has been great. My time at FAU has been 24/7 fun. You love every moment here."
Looking towards his future, Bernard plans on continuing to play tennis in the upcoming year. Although it can be a tough process, he plans on entering tournaments this summer and seeing where the process takes him.
John Bernard and the Florida Atlantic men's tennis team's 2024-25 schedule includes three away matches and the AAC Championships that will begin on Thursday, April 17 in Memphis, Tennessee.
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