Former Longhorn Tennis Player Malaika Rapolu Makes Her Women’s Tennis Association Debut

It all started with a game of hooky—a mid-semester trip to Mexico, to be exact.

But hey, you’ve never heard of an underdog story starting with a midterm, have you?

Malaika Rapolu, BBA ’24, wasn’t the type of student to cut class. This decision was simple game theory. She had half a semester remaining to earn her Management Information Systems (MIS) degree from the McCombs School of Business, and at the beginning of the fall, her professor explained that each student’s lowest exam score would be dropped. So, Rapolu could afford the ‘F’ on the midterm. But she couldn’t miss this tennis tournament. 

Rapolu had promised herself that she would at least try to make it in professional tennis after a lifetime dedicated to the sport. She was following a path that began with lessons from her father and led to an All-American nod her senior year of college.    

Now, as she boarded a plane to Mexico, she was beginning a journey that, in just three weeks’ time, would lead to a perfect little underdog story.  

You wouldn’t have pinned Rapolu’s father, Madhuker, to be a tennis coach. Born in India, he moved to America to work in information technology and had never played tennis until 7-year-old Malaika declared that she wanted to play after watching the sport on TV. Madhuker bought equipment and studied YouTube videos on how to coach. “We kind of just learned together,” Malaika said.    

Within two years, Madhuker moved the family from Omaha, Nebraska, to the Austin area, a decision made, he said, “partially for work and partially for tennis.” Every day, Malaika and Madhuker would train after school and work at a public court less than a mile from their new home.   

While others moved cross-country to full-time academies, Madhuker remained Malaika’s only coach until she went to college. In high school, she became the No. 2 prospect in the state, committing to the Longhorns in April 2020. But at Texas, she struggled to earn a spot in the lineup, bouncing in and out of the Longhorns’ rotation. That didn’t affect her effort, though.   

“We would make a joke that Malika had the ‘Perfect Attendance Award,’” says Charlotte Chavatipon, BS ’24, a teammate of Rapolou’s. “She was never sick. She was always there. And same thing in the classroom, too.”   

Despite starting her college career on the bench, by her senior season, Rapolu had won more matches than anybody in the NCAA and was named an All-American.    

And even then, once the season ended, she couldn’t stop thinking about tennis.   

Professional tennis is a numbers game. It’s not like the NFL, where an athlete gets drafted based on potential. Every player’s spot on tour must be earned, working up a grueling ladder.   

A McCombs student, Rapolu knew about economics. And in professional tennis, the currency is ranking points, accumulated slowly to progress through each level. At the top of the pyramid is the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) Tour. Below that is the Challenger Tour, essentially the sport’s Minor Leagues. Even further below is the International Tennis Federation (ITF) Tour.   

Rapolu found an ITF tournament in Huamantla, a small town east of Mexico City, that she could enter. It was worth just 15 points, and in the final course of her MIS degree, Rapolu had the midterm scheduled for the same week. “I’m putting all my eggs in this tennis thing,” Rapolu told her friend Chavatipon. “If I fail this class, I’m not graduating.”   

Then, out of a field of 32, she won.   

There was another tournament the following week, so Rapolu entered. She’d play in the morning, then would bring her computer to the hotel lobby to Zoom into class. Or try to. The Wi-Fi connection cut in and out. “It was actually a nightmare,” she said. But Rapolu kept winning, and her trip kept getting extended. By the end of the week, she won the second tournament, too.   

She wasn’t finished. Those two wins earned her a spot the following week in the H-E-B Pro Tennis Open held at the Texas Tennis Center on UT’s campus, worth 50 points. Remarkably, Rapolu won that tournament, too. In all, she went three straight weeks without a loss.    

As it turned out, the victory came with an automatic bid into the ATX Open, a WTA 250 event that’s been held at Westwood Country Club each February for the past three years. Out of the 32 players in the main draw, 20 are in the top 100, including world No. 4 Jessica Pegula. She could vault up the professional tennis ladder and play in her first WTA event.   

Rapolu has no agent, no sponsors, no full-time coach. The difference in the quality of play from the tournaments in Mexico to the ATX Open is the equivalent to jumping straight from a high school musical to Broadway. “You can try for years, and you can just never get there,” Rapolu said.  

She did it after playing the three best weeks of tennis of her life.   

Oh, and about that McCombs class? Rapolu aced the final with a 96. She got her diploma in December. Then it was time to play.  

On the February afternoon that Malaika would make her WTA debut, Madhuker Rapolu kept checking his watch. He was sitting in the grandstands of Center Court, watching two tour regulars. His daughter was due up next. “This,” he said, “is her dream.”   

“From the United States,” said the announcer finally, “Malaika Rapolu!” Madhuker stood and cheered. His daughter was facing a veteran from Spain, Nuria Parrizas-Diaz, ranked 107 in the world. “She’s played professionally for years,” Madhuker said. “But you never know.”   

Parrizas-Diaz held serve, and Rapolu held hers. Often, Rapolu would look toward her father in the crowd, and he’d clap or offer advice. As the first set dragged into the second, you could see Rapolu realizing she could play at this level. “I felt a little more free,” Rapolu said.   

Despite a late surge, Rapolu couldn’t hold off Parrizas-Diaz. She fell 6-2, 6-4. “The electronic line calls, the music between changeovers, all the screens—everything was different,” Rapolu said. “But it was encouraging to see that I’m not that far behind.”   

It’s been said that tennis is the most black-and-white sport; only one player wins each tournament, after all. But look closer at any draw, and you’ll find a dozen unique stories, each with its own beginning and end.   

Professional debuts especially aren’t measured by wins and losses. They’re remembered for those particular points, specific shots, and peeks at potential. It took Aryna Sabalenka, the world No. 1, five months to win her first pro match. Caroline Wozniacki, the former world No. 1, lost the second set of her first WTA event 6-0. Serena Williams dropped her WTA debut in straight sets, playing in the middle of a cigarette–smoke–filled indoor Québec shopping mall.    

Sometimes, underdog stories end with a championship. Sometimes, just getting there is the end of one story—and the beginning of another.  

CREDITS: Texas Athletics, Alex Smith, Texas Athletics