As a collegiate tennis player at Arizona, Colton Smith had his way on the hard courts.
Now as a young professional, Smith is adapting to the other major court surfaces: clay and grass. So far, Smith looks just at home on grass courts as he did on hard courts at Arizona.
The recent UA alum made it to the finals of the Birmingham Challenger, a new ATP Challenger 125 played in Birmingham, England. The tournament is a precursor to bigger grass tournaments, including Wimbledon.
Smith fell to Finnish player Otto Virtanen on Sunday 6-4, 6-4 in the championship match. Smith took down multiple seasoned pros to reach the finals, including Rinky Hijikata, a former top 75 player in the world. Smith beat Hijikata 6-3, 6-3 in the semifinals.
Smith played through rainy conditions in Birmingham. Both the semifinals and finals matches had to be suspended due to weather.
Smith earned $15,150 in prize money for reaching the final of the tournament. He’s up to a career-high No. 143 in the current ATP rankings. That ranks as the 17th-best American in the world. Not bad for a guy who just graduated college.
Smith will next play in the Lexus Ilkley Open in West Yorkshire beginning Monday.