From pro tennis to college tennis: Deniz Khazan is ‘one in a million’

Deniz Khazan is a rarity: She became a pro tennis player at age 15 and a college rookie at 26.

On May 21, Khazan, a native of Israel, capped her first year as a U.S. collegian by helping the Barry University Bucs win the 2021 NCAA Division II women’s tennis national title.

Unlike Division I, which has age restrictions, Division II allows such an unusual pro-to-college career path. That was a good thing for Barry this past season because Khazan was the No. 1-ranked player in the nation (Division II) in singles and doubles. In addition, she was named the Sunshine State Conference Female Athlete of the Year on June 22, beating out candidates from all other league sports.

Khazan, who has ranked as high as No. 200 in the world professional rankings, decided to come to Barry after COVID-19 stalled the pro circuit.

“A lot of eyebrows were raised when people saw me playing college tennis,” Khazan said. “But it was the best decision I could make.

“Still, it was hard to see my friends struggle on the pro tour.”

Barry coach Avi Kigel, who is also from Israel, said he has had other former pro players compete for him before, including two other women from the 2021 team.

But Khazan is different.

“She’s probably the highest-ranked player ever to play college,” Kigel said. “We’re very lucky to find someone like her. She’s almost like one in a million.”

Indeed, Khazan won 21 singles titles and three doubles championships on the pro circuit. She is still the top-ranked player in Israel’s pro rankings.

Yet, Kigel said Khazan was a bit of an “outsider” in Israel.

A ‘fighting spirit’

“Nobody thought she would be as good as she became,” Kigel said. “She proved everyone wrong and doing so developed her fighting spirit.”

Khazan, who is 5-foot-8, is more than just a tennis player. She served two years in the army in Israel. Also, while playing pro tennis, she attended a university in Ukraine, eventually earning a double bachelor’s degree in physical therapy and sport education.

At Barry, she is working on her master’s degree in clinical psychology.

“Now that I know how the body reacts, I want to go deeper,” said Khazan, whose father is an orthopedic doctor. “I want to study more on how the mental connects with the physical.”

Khazan said Barry University was a natural for her because she was already living in Miami. In addition, one of her coaches knew Kigel, making the connection easier.

Kigel, who took over the Barry program in time for the 2009 season and has since led the Bucs to six national titles — including a current streak of four in a row — was immediately impressed with Khazan.

“It was two things,” Kigel said. “First, her groundstrokes are as good as almost any pro player. She has power and can go from defense to offense in one shot. She can go big, but she’s also in control.

“Secondly, she has a strong mind. She never gives up. When things don’t go her way, she moves on to the next point mentally — very mature.”

Khazan and the Bucs

Even so, Khazan had adjustments to make from pro tennis — where she only worried about herself — to the college game, where you need your teammates to win a championship.

In addition, Khazan had to focus energy on academics, and she needed to figure out how to manage her time.

COVID-19, of course, added another level of difficulty for Khazan, who plans to play two more seasons at Barry and doubts she will ever return to pro tennis.

The pandemic limited Barry to just eight regular-season matches in 2021. For perspective, consider that Barry played 20 regular-season matches in 2019, pre-pandemic.

But, with Khazan leading the charge, the Bucs went 8-0 in the 2021 regular season. The Bucs then went 2-0 to win the Sunshine State Conference on their home courts, 2-0 to earn the NCAA South Region title at Pensacola and 3-0 to emerge victorious at the national championships in Surprise, Arizona.

The most difficult part of Barry’s run may have come after its 4-0 win over Franklin Pierce in the national quarterfinals in Arizona. As the team was headed back to its hotel, their van was hit on its side by a car coming out of a parking lot.

“They hit us pretty hard,” Khazan said. “I had never been in a crash before. A couple of our girls had bruises, including myself, but we got lucky overall.”

Shaken but not defeated, the Bucs went on to win the national championship to cap a wild year for all involved.

“I’m happy we could bring so much honor to this university,” Khazan said. “I feel I accomplished something that was bigger than me because it’s about the team.”

Walter Villa can be reached at wvilla07@yahoo.com.