Senior All-American ended her fall season with a 10-3 record and ranked 8th in the country in singles play
Pepperdine Waves women’s tennis player Savannah Broadus will swing her racket for the red, white, and blue for the second consecutive year.
The senior All-American is part of the USA National Collegiate team competing in the 17th Master’U BNP Paribas Championships in Reims, France, from Friday to Sunday.
Last year, Broadus, 22, helped the U.S. capture the event’s gold medal in Honfleur, France. She won two doubles, one singles, and one mixed doubles match during Team USA’s victories over Ireland, France, and then Great Britain in the championship match.
Broadus is honored to be on the U.S. team and create bonds with her teammates and coaches.
“It is a really cool event,” she said. “I want to have a blast playing tennis and representing our country and college tennis.”
Other college tennis players named to the American squad include Texas’ Sebastian Gorzny, UC Santa Barbara’sAmelia Honer, Texas A&M’s Mary Stoiana, Michigan’s Gavin Young, and Columbia’s Michael Zheng.
Stoiana and Young were also on the team last year. One of the team’s coaches, Washington’s Robin Stephenson, also coached the gold-medal winning group in 2023. Broadus noted that she and Stephenson established a good relationship last year.
Broadus wants to have fun at the tournament.
“Our main focus as a team last year, was to enjoy our time on the court together and have fun with each other,” she said. “That allowed us to play some of the best tennis I have seen a lot of us play. That is what I want to bring back from last year — to really enjoy myself on court and my teammates off court, so I can play the best I can.”
The Championships include two men’s and women’s singles draws, men’s doubles, women’s doubles, and mixed doubles.
Team USA flew to Paris on Monday and then took a train to Reims. They practiced together going into the Championships.
The U.S. has won 10 of the last 11 Master’U BNP Paribas Championships, which is nicknamed the “the world event of university tennis.” America’s team has also won 12 titles in the spectacle’s 17-year-history.
The field of team’s in this year’s event also includes Australia, Belgium, Germany, and Switzerland. Broadus said she is looking forward to playing France, the host team.
“It emulates college tennis with the rowdy crowd when the French people come to watch France play,” she explained.“France will probably be the most fun match.”
Broadus is the second Pepperdine player to play with Team USA in the event. Ashley Lahey helped the U.S. snag gold medals in 2017 and 2018.
Broadus was named an Intercollegiate Tennis Association All-American for the fifth time during last week’s NCAA Singles and Doubles Championship. She received the title after beating Virginia’s Annabelle Xu in the second round of the singles tournament. However, Broadus was beaten in the next round. She and her doubles partner Vivian Yang werebeaten in the first round of the doubles tournament.
Broadus ended her fall season with a 10-3 record and ranked 8th in the country in singles play.
She said competing in the Master’U BNP Paribas Championships is one of her top tennis accomplishments.
The gold medal Broadus won last year in France, hangs above her bedside table. A poster she received from the tournament is positioned nearby.
“I can look at it every day and say ‘Yep. I got a gold medal for Team USA,’” Broadus said.