SMU tennis player prepares for battle during Dallas Open and off the court
It's a fast-paced day of training at the SMU tennis complex. Sophomore Trevor Svajda keeps the energy going leading into the opening weekend of the Dallas Open.
"I'm very happy I got to play last year in the qualifying round," Svajda said.
Hitting the court is Svajda's safe space.
"When I step on the tennis court, I just try to forget about everything going on in my just normal life," Svajda said.
Svajda played in London for Wimbledon Juniors when he got a call just after his first match. It was from his dad, Tom.
"He had called me, and he let me know he was having some problems with his health," Svajda said. "He didn't know how serious they were, and then a couple of days later, he let me know that it was stage four cancer."
Tom is battling colon cancer, back in California. Miles away, Svajda absorbed the alarming news and relied on support from his tennis family.
"It was a huge shock for me, but I know he's going to get through it. You can always stay positive from there," Svajda said.
"There's so many different parallels, but just like through a tennis match, you navigate, you problem solve you try to be resilient and persevere. It's the same thing with life," Grant Chen said.
Chen, Svajda's tennis coach, knows all too well the pain of hearing a loved one has cancer.
"I went through this challenge myself with my mom about ten years ago," Chen said.
The tennis community organized a GoFundMe page for Svajda's dad.
"He's been my coach since I was born. I started playing tennis at two, and he still helps me to this day, even though he's sick," Svajda said.
The 18-year-old tennis player is competing in his second Dallas Open with the help of his team and parents rallying behind him and the fight he learned from his first coach, his dad, who continues to face his opponent every day.
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