PRIYA COOPER / SPORTS EDITOR

This summer USD senior Oliver Tarvet hit the Wimbledon stage along with athletes from all over the world. The tournament is organized by the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in collaboration with the Lawn Tennis Association annually in Wimbledon, London. 

USD senior Oliver Tarvet steps on to Centre Court at Wimbledon. Photo courtesy of @usd_tennis/Instagram

Tarvet has been playing tennis for USD since his first year and at USD. Tarvet competed against Carlos Alcaraz at Wimbledon, a Spanish tennis player who currently resides at the No. 1 ranking in the world. Even though Tarvet was ultimately eliminated by Alcaraz, he put up strong competition against one of the world’s leading tennis stars. 

Tarvet spoke about what it was like to compete with professionals during his time playing in London. 

“I think a big thing for me was kind of just treating it like every other match,” Tarvet said. “The stage is a lot bigger than anything I’ve ever played on, and obviously the opponent is  a lot better than anyone that I’ve ever played, but nothing changes. From a tennis standpoint, I’m still getting a serve like in every other game. I’m still getting a return every game. I feel like I just did my best to try and focus on what was important to me and that was just, you know, actually playing tennis.”

Tarvet talked about the emotions surrounding being able to play in Wimbledon and what it meant to accomplish such a feat. 

 “I wanted to embrace the moment and make the most of it,” Tarvet said. 

  “And that was a big goal of mine as well, going on to it is actually to enjoy the emotions and enjoy the opportunity rather than seeing  it as like a bit of a big stage to fail, because obviously I was like the overwhelming underdog,   going  into that match. But I tried to actually see it as an opportunity to go out there and try and compete against maybe the best tennis player in the world right now.”

The USD senior is originally from England and expressed what it was like to not only be able to compete in such a renowned tournament, but also how it felt being able to compete somewhere  he  grew up so close to. 

   “I live probably an hour, maybe an hour and fifteen away from Wimbledon,” Tarvet said. “I always went there as a kid. My mom was really big into tennis. She was a massive Nadal supporter. That’s  kind  of how she fell  in  love with tennis, and kind of how she  got me into tennis as well. So I have some fond memories of me and of me and her, and, you know, my dad and my sister going to Wimbledon each year. And it was a dream to be able to compete there.”

 Tarvet had previously played on the courts where Wimbledon takes place during his adolescence and younger years playing tennis.

  “I  played   the junior   tournament at Wimbledon, which was really cool, but to actually play the main event and not only play  qualifying  ball, was really special,” Tarvet said. “Like knowing that I always had that   dream as  a kid is,  you know, something that I always wanted to check off, and it does feel pretty  good, you know, that I was able  to play in the tournament. I always went as a kid, and really enjoyed watching all the pros and  kind of hoping that one day I would be amongst them, and it was nice to be amongst   them  for  a week at least.”

  The actual tournament was a lot different from any junior qualifying game and with the change in competition level, is a change in mindset as well. That perspective Tarvet carried through the games was rooted in the mindset that every athlete must adopt in order to compete at the highest level.

  “I feel like, as a tennis player and just as an athlete in general, you have to be, like, almost delusionally optimistic,” Tarvet said. “I  knew  the odds were heavily stacked against me, but, I still had to have, even if it was a really  small glimmer of hope, hope that if everything went right that day for me, or, you know, like, then who knows what can come of that day. I feel like that’s what makes sports and athletics as a whole interesting, is the unpredictability of it. I try to not treat it any differently to, you know, the 1000 of the other matches that I’ve played in my lifetime.”

     Tarvet tries to keep this same mindset alive for both collegiate and professional matches.

   “Obviously from that week you take a lot of confidence,” Tarvet said. “I feel like, in sports you gotta try and build off any confidence that you can get. The tournament was a massive boost for me, knowing that I can compete against guys who are top 200 or top 100 in the world, and not only compete but beat them.” 

 At the same time, Tarvet emphasized the importance of balance and being able to recognize success without letting it inflate his mindset.

“But again, I think as much as I took confidence from that, I still think it’s really important, and this is something that USD as a team preaches a lot, is to stay humble,” Tarvet said. “I think that just because you had one good tournament, it doesn’t guarantee that your next tournament is going to be the same. I feel  like I got to that stage and I had a great tournament because of all the hard work that I put in over the last couple years and that’s not just a good couple months. As you know, it takes a lot of hard work and a lot of consistency to be able to play on that stage. And I feel like it’s important to remind yourself of why you got there.”

     While Tarvet recognized the confidence the tournament gave him, he also stressed the importance of not letting success inflate his mindset.

  “Obviously, it was a great opportunity,” Tarvet said. “I feel like if I want to continue doing those things, I gotta not let that get to my head. And I feel like there are a lot of people, you know, who try to inflate your ego. I feel like you see a lot of pro athletes do it, you know the ego maybe gets a little bit out of control, and they stop doing what gives them success and what has brought them success, and then, you know they, they stop having results and stop improving.”

   Tarvet discussed how humility plays a role in being a good athlete and what it takes to compete at such a high level without letting the pressure and fame get to his head. 

   “I think not only as a tennis player, but I also think as a person, humility is really important,” Tarvet said. “But I mean, the matches I’ve won, it doesn’t change who I am as a person. It’s not to say that I don’t really appreciate the support that I’ve received, and the opportunities that I’ve had to throw first pitches and be recognized. Of course, it’s really cool, and I really appreciate it, but as soon as it’s over, you have to kind of come back down to reality and get back to work.”

 That grounded approach also shapes how he views the road ahead to the NCAA’s and both individually and with his teammates.

  “I still think we’ve got some unfinished business as a team,” Tarvet said. “And I also wanted to come back, because at the end of the day, I owe everything to USD like I wouldn’t be in this situation without their help and unconditional support.”

  While Wimbledon was a huge accomplishment, Tarvet explained how one of his next goals was to win an  NCAA title while he is still playing for the University of San Diego. 

“As a team, the NCAA is obviously a big one, we didn’t have the tournament that we wanted to last year,” Tarvet said.           “But I  think  we have a really strong group, we have four seniors who I have a lot of faith in. And I think we can really go deep in this year’s NCAA’ s. We broke a lot of records last season and had a career high ranking of six. But,  you  know, I don’t think there’s any reason, looking at the team that we have and the culture that we have, why we can’t go even deeper than that.”

Tarvet shakes Alcaraz’s hand after the match at Wimbledon. Photo courtesy of @usd_tennis/Instagram

    Tarvet explained how he plans to carry on his tennis career after graduation and his future intentions   to   play  professionally.  

  “I’m taking this semester off to play  professional events,” Tarvet  said. “And, you know, just live the  professional lifestyle for a bit, and then, come back for one  more  semester  with the team in the spring, and then, and  then go Pro full time for  hopefully many, many years.”

   The Toreros officially started their season on Sept. 11 and have their next competition next at the San Diego Veterans Tennis Classic from Oct. 3 to Oct. 5.

Tarvet competed against Carlos Alcaraz, who is currently ranked #1 in the world, on July 2. Photo courtesy of @usd_tennis/Instagram