Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Andy Martin and Juan Martin del Potro comprise the top five tennis players in the world. They also have another trait in common: All were born outside the United States.
On the college level, more than 30 percent of Division I players are foreign-born, and there are 14 schools with rosters made up exclusively of international players.
And Duke certainly has a foreign presence of its own.
Senior Kiril Dimitrov is from Sofia, Bulgaria, sophomore Alain Michel hails from Sao Paulo, Brazil and freshman Torsten Wietoska calls Leer, Germany home. These players come from different backgrounds and each took a unique path before landing in Durham to add some international flair to the character of the No. 25 Blue Devils.
"When it comes to international players, there are a lot of different ways that the recruiting process works," first-year head coach Ramsey Smith said. "There is no exact science."
Dimitrov, who began playing tennis as a 7-year-old when his desire to play soccer was met by his parents' decision that tennis was the only sport that he was old enough to play, took it upon himself to seek out the chance to come to Duke. The Bulgarian contacted former head coach Jay Lapidus and sent the coaching staff video of himself in action. To confirm what he was seeing on tape and in match statistics, Lapidus ventured to Switzerland to watch Dimitrov and liked what he saw enough to extend a scholarship.
Also in discussions with Princeton, Dimitrov essentially had two options: Come to college in the United States or attempt to begin playing professionally. Most top international performers are faced with a similar decision as the universities abroad don't offer intense college competition.
Michel took a similar approach. The Blue Devils' coaching staff was contacted by a recruiting agency promoting a player who they described as interested in a top-level academic institution. Even with a full recruiting class and a relative unknown in Michel, the Duke coaching staff decided to take a risk and the Brazilian has rewarded its faith by overcoming initial culture shock.
"I didn't speak English well at all when I first arrived. Living on campus was the biggest difference from the schools in Brazil," Michel said. "Living with other teenagers where life was entirely centered on campus was completely different."
Although there are cultural and sometimes even linguistic differences, the international contingent insisted that it doesn't operate as a separate subset within the team, a sentiment echoed by Smith.
"It is a unique cultural thing. Some schools have all international players," Smith said. "I like to have a mix, and it has certainly added to the character of our team."
Wietoska's background is a bit different because he studied abroad for a year during high school in Hilton Head, S.C. Smith happens to be from Hilton Head and first saw Wietoska while visiting his parents. Smith was so impressed by the youngster that he made the trip to Germany to visit with Wietoska's parents, a trek that he hopes will reap rewards for years to come.
"Recruiting is so competitive with the top-50 schools," Smith said. "We certainly have a budget, but for certain players, it is well worth the trip over to get a more complete look."
Even though Wietoska had some exposure to American tennis, the biggest adjustment for him and his foreign teammates was adapting to the firmness of hardcourts and indoor courts. On the quicker surface, the serve and return become by far the most critical shots, a difference that had to be made up for with extra practice time. Before coming to Duke, all three had played almost exclusively on clay.
In the future, the younger players hope to keep the prospect of playing professionally open. But they have come to realize that the competition to get to the ATP is incredibly intense and understand the value that their education will hold.
"It's tough to have regrets when you get to come to one of the best universities in the world and still play a sport that you love," Dimitrov said.
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