Earlier this month, the 2024 Universal Tennis Foundation Hurd Award Champions, Ethan Quinn and Fiona Crawley, were announced during the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, Calif.
The Hurd Awards, made possible by a gift from the Hurd family, are $100,000 awards given annually to assist a young American male and female player transitioning from college to professional competition. First launched in 2017 by the late Mark Hurd, the award winners have included Peyton Stearns, Danielle Collins, Christopher Eubanks, JJ Wolf, and more.
“I wanted to continue the tradition that [Mark Hurd] had started at Oracle to grant two scholarships to the most promising female and male coming out of college tennis,” Paula Hurd said in Indian Wells. “He always wanted to promote the game of tennis. He wanted to see an easier transition from juniors to college to pro.”
Crawley is a senior at the University of North Carolina and planning for a full-time professional career starting this summer. The 22-year-old led the Tar Heels to the 2023 NCAA team championship and captured the NCAA doubles title (with Carson Tanguilig). She has already won two ITF titles and boasts a WTA ranking of No.379. As a wildcard entry at the 2023 US Open, she qualified for the main draw, giving up her prize money check to maintain her college eligibility.
“This grant is really just going to change my life,” Crawley said. “Tennis is an expensive sport, and there’s a lot more that goes into it than just playing the sport and being on court, which is my favorite part of all of it. I played a few professional tournaments and just how expensive it is getting to the site and the planes and the hotels and the Ubers and the food and everything. It is so expensive.”
University of Georgia’s Quinn won the 2023 NCAA singles tournament as a redshirt freshman before turning pro. He qualified for the BNP Paribas Open this year, marking his ATP debut.
New this year, the Universal Tennis Foundation has partnered with the Youth Performance Institute (YPI) to expand the awards. YPI board members Gordon Uehling (also a Hurd Awards Selection Committee member) and world-renowned sports psychologist Dr. Jim Loehr have made $40,000 grants possible for two Hurd Award Finalists, Ohio State’s Cannon Kingsley and Duke’s Chloe Beck.
In addition, the 2024 Hurd Award Select Pro Team of additional deserving elite collegiate players, along with the Champions and Finalists, will be invited to attend a Youth Performance Institute conference this summer. The Select Pro Team includes Lea Ma (Georgia), Kari Miller (Michigan), Ayana Akli (South Carolina), Micah Braswell (Texas), Andres Martin (Georgia Tech), and Garrett Johns (Duke).
