The incredible story of Michael Cheng: Ivy League student competes in Australian Open | ATP Tour

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The incredible story of Michael Cheng: Ivy League student competes in Australian Open

How the Columbia star balances a rigorous academic load with playing elite tennis

January 17, 2026

Michael Cheng will be taking five courses this spring semester at Columbia University in New York, where he is a senior. The 21-year-old is about to graduate from one of the most prestigious schools in the world, the Ivy League.

But even if school starts on Jan. 20, that won’t be his focus this week. Instead, the student-athlete was playing in her first main draw match at the Australian Open on the other side of the world.

“Right now, I’m really excited,” qualifier Zheng told ATPTour.com. “I’m just relieved to get through it and get the chance to compete in my first main event.”

A year ago, this would have been impossible. Zheng is the defending NCAA men’s singles champion, but is still outside the top 700 in the PIF ATP rankings. However, he balanced a rigorous education (earning Academic All-American honors and the 2025 Rafael Osuna National Sportsmanship Award) with college tennis while proving he can compete with the best players in the world.

Zheng showed early signs of his ability, starting as early as when his father, Joe, decided to introduce Michael and his two-year-old sister, Amy, to the sport at a local high school. Joe immigrated to the United States from China and fell in love with the sport upon arrival, which he passed on to his children.

Zheng grew up in New Jersey and trained three days a week during high school at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, home of the U.S. Open. At the end of his junior career, the American reached the 2022 Wimbledon men’s singles final, defeating Coleman Wong and Martin Landalus along the way.

“I had some talent, so he wanted to see how far he could go,” Zheng said of his father. “Now we’re here for my first race [of a major]. This is a pretty exciting game. “

But this is an atypical situation. Zheng is an active college student who must prepare for winter psychology classes in New York in the coming days. Instead, his Australian summers are getting hotter and hotter. A humble student doesn’t make a fuss, but Ivy League courses are difficult enough on their own.

“The academic rigor helped Michael in many ways, especially mentally,” Columbia University men’s tennis head coach Howard Endelman said. “Schoolwork is complementary; it allows Michael to focus on and develop a life outside of tennis. While it may be counterintuitive, this combination helps Michael develop as a complete person, which actually helps his tennis.”

According to Zheng, Endelman consistently emphasized this message.

“You learn how to manage your time, and in stressful moments, I think you can manage it a little better because you’re putting in all the work and you’re balancing schoolwork at the same time,” Zheng said. “I think it just gives you a little bit of a mental advantage where you can maybe do a little bit more than other people, but at the same time, your level is there.”

What’s even more impressive about his moment in the spotlight against Sebastian Korda at Melbourne Park on Sunday is how he got there. Not only did he emerge from a tough qualifying draw, he also finished first in qualifying.

At the beginning of June, Zheng was still outside the top 700 in the world. But at the ATP Challenger Finals in Little Rock, Zheng Zhi began to improve tremendously, and wins in Chicago, Columbus and Tiburon showed that this was no fluke.

“After winning the Tiburon Challenger finals in October, Michael took a red-eye flight Sunday night so he could take the live test in New York on Monday morning,” Endelman said. “He just took it in stride.”

The latter two wins came when Zheng was in five classes, and he later successfully defended the NCAA singles crown.

“It’s definitely not easy. At the same time, I think people tend to overestimate these studies. I think you can make it as hard or as easy as you want,” said Zheng, a psychology major. “I’m traveling and missing a lot of classes, so I’m not doing anything too crazy like neuroscience or biology or anything like that. But at the same time, you can sign up for whatever classes you want.”

After entering college, Zheng did not plan to study psychology, but economics. The 21-year-old found it interesting, although he doesn’t believe there is a strong link between his studies and the psychology of the tennis court.

Zheng Zhi’s memorable performance nearly came to an end in the final round of qualifying against Lucas Klein when he faced match point in the final set tie-break. But the Colombian Lions handled the pressure the same way they did in school: with success.

“Nothing seemed to bother Michael — on or off the field — especially when things went wrong,” Endelman said. “In the tie-break of the final set, Michael lost the lead after leading 7/1 and 9/7, and then suddenly fell behind 9/10. He walked to the free throw line expressionlessly and saved the match point with an ace.”

Although Zheng’s tennis career is just getting started, the college phenom has a bright future both on and off the court. But the world number 174 isn’t too concerned about what his psychology degree will bring at the moment.

“I’m not thinking too long-term right now,” Zheng said. “I’m just focused on seeing how far I can go in tennis and focusing on that at least 100 percent.”