FRESNO, Calif. (FOX26) — John Farrell is a longtime member at the Fig Garden Swim & Racquet Club in northwest Fresno. He saw 6-year-old Ethan Quinn play tennis at the club — then watched 21-year-old Quinn at the French Open last month in Paris.
“My wife and I had tickets for the Louvre and Notre Dame on the day he played [Alexander] Shevchenko,” Farrell said. “We decided we could see the Louvre and Notre Dame anytime, but we can’t always see Ethan play to get into the Round of 16. We got to see a great match – 4 hours, 20 minutes. It was magical, and it was the best part of our trip.”
Quinn almost made the final 16 at Roland Garros, exciting John, and many of the other members of the club who remember the tennis phenom hitting balls on those very same courts as a boy.
The Fresno native is currently overseas, in England, training for the first Wimbledon match of his career on Monday, but not long ago he was playing tennis at the Fig.
Fig Garden Club member Darren Woo remembers playing against a much younger Quinn. He says he’s seen Quinn’s growth firsthand.
“It was fun to play with him as a kid growing up, but then he got so good, so hard, so big,” Woo said. “He moved so much faster and I got older and slower and less powerful, so I miss those days of being able to compete on a level that was even.”
Daniel Trujillo, head tennis professional at the Fig, witnessed Quinn’s dedication to the sport, watching him pour in countless hours perfecting his craft on and off the court.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if we saw him out here as early as 6 o’clock in the morning, putting in 3-4 hours on the court,” Trujillo said. “I feel a little fortunate I get to see him even when he’s not playing on the tour. I get to see him in the training ground a lot, too, so it’s like I always get to see him.”
During the season, Quinn always returns to his roots at the Fig, at least 3-4 times. He is not only someone the adults at Fig Garden are proud of, but someone the young children look up to as a role model.
Brothers Weston and Ryder Tim see Quinn as an inspiration. When asked what they like about Quinn, the boys said he pushes them to be better in the sport.
“That he played at the Fig and that we could have stepped on the same court that he stepped on,” Weston said.
Ryder said Quinn’s success is a motivation for him to keep going in his tennis career.
“I really want to go pro in tennis and see if I can be like him someday, or even better,” Ryder said.