By Patrick M. Fisher
LSU Sports Information
Ken Skupski has proven to be a leader both on and off the court for the LSU men’s tennis team the past couple of years. His hard work and determination have paid off for the All-American and two-time All-SEC selection as he has led his fellow Tigers to a No. 11 ranking in the nation.
Skupski has overcome adverse times to establish himself as one of LSU’s all-time greats. However, only being a junior, he still has many things he hopes to accomplish before his time is up.
International Tiger
Ken Skupski grew up in Liverpool, England in an athletic family where his father, Ken, played professional soccer, and his mother Mary helped manage the household among other things, such as attending athletic events and watching after his younger brother Neal.
As a standout athlete at King David High School, the lefty was named sportsman of the year for his contributions to the tennis, golf and soccer programs, but he knew that it was tennis that would carry him on to higher and loftier goals later in his standout athletic career.
During his teenage years he found a lot of successes in tennis as he would go on to become the Under-18 and Under-14 national doubles champion. Furthermore, he was ranked as high as 125th by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association, thanks in large part to becoming a Junior Wimbledon quarterfinalist.
“As a junior tennis player I had some good success, mainly in doubles, I managed to become a national champion three times. I did pretty well and I played Junior Wimbledon, which is probably my biggest accomplishment. It was a lot of fun and I had a pretty good junior career,” Skupski said.
However, all these accomplishments did not come easy. Skupski is just the product of hard work and focus day in and day out, which were instilled in him at a very early age from his parents and grandparents.
“My dad’s been a very influential person in my life. He has always taught me to do my best and to live life everyday as it comes and be as good as you can be. My dad has always kept me focused on what I want to do and what I want to achieve,” Skupski said. “Thanks to my parents, my brother and I were able to grow up in a very mature household and I find myself very mature now, here at LSU.”
Skupski was recruited hard by LSU Head Coach Jeff Brown and Assistant Coach Mark Booras to come to Baton Rouge and one day lead the LSU program into one of the nation’s elite. Booras knew that many European countries have great depth in tennis and landing one of England’s finest would be critical to taking the program to where it needed to go.
“A lot of people asked whether I should turn pro, I looked into it and it wasn’t for me. Coming to LSU wasn’t too difficult a choice because I was close to Dan Kiernan, who was a current player at LSU and someone who really helped me adjust when I first came in. He made it easy for me to settle in with someone I knew,” Skupski said.
In addition to Kiernan, Skupski knew he would become a Tiger based off of LSU’s rich history, fine facilities and a coaching staff that is second to none.
Overcoming Adversity
Skupski, a junior for the Tigers, put away all contenders in mid-January at the SEC Coaches Indoor Championships to lay claim to his second straight indoor crown. In doing so he is still the only Tiger to accomplish such a feat, but even more noteworthy is that he is the first player in the tournament to win back-to-back titles.
Skupski, who was ranked No.66 nationally, beat three opponents’s ranked in the top-100 that week and established himself as one of the best one seeds in the country going into the dual match season. Skupski continued to do as he always does by playing at a very high level.
The victory for Skupski was bittersweet though. Skupski, whose grandfather had passed away at the end of October, dedicated the emotional tournament win in tribute to him and all he has done for Ken.
“He was a really inspirational person as far as my tennis is concerned. It was difficult. Last semester I struggled to come to terms with the fact that he was going to pass away at some point. I won the tournament 4 days after his passing and the SEC Tournament was very big for me as well. He was always there though with me, watching after me through my tough time,” Skupski said.
Skupski would go on to win, win and then win some more. He has done so well lately playing both singles and doubles matches with longtime friend and doubles partner Mark Growcott. He has yet to lose in his last 15 singles matches and somewhere along the way found the motivation and focus to play at the top of his game for both his family and for his team.
“I have been proud of the fact that since then (his grandfather’s passing) I haven’t lost a match in singles,” Skupski said.
Along the way Skupski has racked up such impressive wins over No. 2 ranked John Isner of Georgia, No.43 ranked Juan Pablo Di Cesare of Ole Miss, No. 96 ranked Matic Omerzal of Georgia, and most recently defeating Devin Mullings, who is the No. 1 seed for Ohio State University.
Skupski has been one of the best singles player’s in the Southeastern Conference since his arrival on campus. He was recognized for his great singles play by being named First Team All-SEC the past two years. He is currently ranked No. 66 in the nation and has led his team to a No. 11 ranking in the nation.
All-American
Skupski likes to think of himself as a team orientated player. Nowhere is that more evident than when he teams up with fellow Tiger Mark Growcott to compete together in doubles matches.
Skupski and Growcott have known each other since age 10 and it shows as they play like seasoned veterans together. Each feeds off the other’s emotions, the highest of highs and the lowest of lows, motivating each other on the court.
“It’s up and down, we find it difficult to live together at times, it’s sort of like a man and wife type relationship, you go through good times and you go through bad times,” Skupski said of Growcott and himself.
If they have had bad times, it sure hasn’t shown through their play on the court. The duo has been on a roll since last season’s success. Last spring they made it to the NCAA Championship Game for Doubles Play only to lose to John Isner and Antonio Ruiz of Geogia.
“We were one match short of a national championship,” Skupski said. “We expected to be there all along.”
For their efforts the ITA named both Growcott and Skupski All-Americans in doubles play. The ITA also recognized the pair by naming them the No. 1 doubles team this season in their pre-season poll.
Head Coach Jeff Brown is more concerned with keeping the No. 1 ranking throughout the entire season and has expressed this to Growcott and Skupski. However, this pair of veterans are not going to get caught up in the hype. They realize the sacrifice it will take to get back to that championship game and win that national title.
“Ken and I have talked about our goals for the season and we want nothing short of that national championship. We have worked long and hard for the opportunity and when that opportunity presents itself, we will not relinquish the chance to win it,” Growcott said.
Growcott and Skupski are already off to a great start this season by racking up tally mark’s in the win column for their doubles play.
Growcott and Skupski both agree that it’s all about the mentality that they have to come with everyday to practice and matches. They expect to go out there and win. They expect to get the job done for them and their team. It’s a constant battle to stay on top, but both know that the struggle will help the team out in the long run.
Team Leader
Skupski has proved to be both a leader on and off the court this season for a young LSU team. Head Coach Jeff Brown praises Skupski’s work ethic on the court, in the weight room and especially in the classroom where he has managed to maintain good grades and put himself in position to graduate in four years.
“He (Skupski) talks about his experience, that’s kind of how things always get passed down from one team to the next. Ken has learned from people that were on the team then and he has done the same thing with these younger guys,” Brown said. “Through his example, the way he competes and the way he practices are very professional the way he does things. You can’t help but notice the way he goes about things.”
Skupski has led by example and shown that by working hard you can accomplish goals that you set for yourself. Skupski and Brown both agreed that his game has improved over the past 3 years. However, it is Skupski’s strong mental ability that he relies on to take over.
“He has improved a lot. There was a lot of things that he had to work on were based around practice and his match attitude and those have both come a long way. His practice has become a lot higher quality. He doesn’t look at anybody as somebody that he couldn’t potentially beat. I think that was something that he had to get over his first year or two. He won a lot of matches don’t get me wrong, but there was some guys that maybe he thought he couldn’t play with, and that’s just not true,” Brown said.
Skupski is never one to settle. He is always pushing the envelope and setting the bar higher and higher each time he steps foot on the court. His goal is to eclipse last season’s No. 5 ranking in the nation, which came when his game was peaking.
“I’m just trying to get everything better, with the level I’m at, everything can improve. Even though certain shots are better than others, they can still get better. I’m always looking to improve. It’s more achieving things as a team though, if I can win every match in the season and it helps the team, then that is what is really more important to me than me than any individual accomplishment. It’s all about the team,” Skupski said.
The biggest thing Skupski stresses, especially to younger teammates, is dealing with the pressure of big time tennis. Skupski would know since being thrown into the No. 1 seed as a freshman. He’s taken it all in stride though and has learned something new from every match that he has played in.
As the SEC schedule heats up, a veteran like Skupski knows just how much pressure will be dealt upon his young team. He, like all great ones do, makes those around him better. He is trying to prepare his team to make a run late into the post-season for the chance to win the team title later this season in Palo Alto, California. This is the kind of pressure that Skupski is willing to deal with. He has been there before and will be there again.