UCLA men’s tennis player brings some chill from Brazil
Junior Karue Sell has settled into his role as co-captain of the UCLA men’s tennis team after first arriving in Westwood three years ago. The Brazil native is regarded as one of the most laid-back members of the team and said he was surprised by how uptight Americans were when he first arrived. (Aubrey Yeo/Daily Bruin senior staff)
By Lea Chang
May 5, 2015 12:13 a.m.
Men’s tennis player Karue Sell best epitomized his laid-back nature during an exchange with a USC opponent at last month’s Pac-12 championship. When Sell was down in his match, a Trojan bench player tried to rub it in, telling him it felt good to be up a set and a break. Sell didn’t miss a beat in his retort.
“How would you know?” Sell teased the bench player.
Sell, who was born and raised in Brazil before coming to UCLA, said one of the first things that struck him about Americans was how uptight they are.
“Everyone here is so uptight about things that I never (was) in my life,” said the junior co-captain. “Like jaywalking: Everyone will be waiting at the dorm crosswalk and there’s no cars coming, there’s like a thousand people wanting to go, and I’m like why is everyone waiting – just go!”
Sell said he enjoys being regarded as being one of the more relaxed members of the team.
“He likes to project that he’s laid-back,” said senior Dennis Mkrtchian, Sell’s apartment mate and co-captain. “I’m just going to say Karue’s a funny guy.”
Sell said he grew up loving tennis but dabbled in other sports as well.
Sell skateboarded and rollerbladed as a child, was introduced to golf at the age of 10 and played basketball through middle school. He said sports always came easily to him and that although tennis has always been important to him, it never kept him up at night.
“I think there are more important things than just thinking about tennis, and I don’t think I would perform very well if I was just worried about tennis 24-7,” he said. “I’m even laid-back in matches.”
Sell’s easygoing nature manifests itself physically as well. Sell has two tattoos obtained during the past two winter breaks. One is reminiscent of a hamsa hand, a Middle Eastern symbol believed to defend against the evil eye. The other is a skull containing lucky symbols, like a clover and a lighthouse for guidance. Sell said he always liked the art form of tattoos.
“I was like, well, if I’m going to (get a tattoo), I’m going to do it now – I’m not going to do it when I’m 40,” Sell said. “If I regret it when I’m 40, then I regret it when I’m 40.”
“He’s really what we call a ‘chill’ guy,” coach Billy Martin said of Sell. Martin said Sell, who has posted a 14-6 record in dual matches this year while playing mostly at No. 4 singles, boasts a level of talent and competitiveness that rivals that of anyone on the team.
That competitive energy shines through in the Bruins’ pregame ritual, when Sell stands in the middle of the team’s huddle to lead his teammates in an animated chant.
But Martin said he’s noticed a trend with Brazilian players in the past being less intense than their American counterparts.
“I think he’s sold himself sometimes a little short in that I think he really is a very talented player, and I’d like to see him give it a little bit more of a chance to excel,” Martin said.
Martin said he believed in Sell’s talent without ever having seen the Brazilian play in person.
“I never had a visit or anything – I just came straight here. I knew I couldn’t go wrong with UCLA,” Sell said.
Sell had hired a recruiting service to translate transcripts and other application materials for colleges in the United States. The company contacted Martin and after researching Sell’s results, the coach decided that he liked what he saw.
“He was a top international junior with good experience playing in the top tournaments in the junior circuit, so it got my interest right away,” Martin said. “From there we got his grades and did the whole recruiting process and came to an agreement on scholarship.”
Martin said Sell has since been an energetic leader for the team, especially in his doubles pairing with sophomore Joseph Di Giulio. But Martin said he also expects Sell to have to step up and play in the top three singles spots next year after Mkrtchian graduates.
Despite his love for his home country, Sell said he plans on staying in California after graduating, citing low standards of living in Brazil. Maybe by then, he said, he’ll have become an uptight American himself.
“Oh my god, everyone is so uptight here, it’s so weird,” Sell said. “But after two, three years, I find myself doing the same things too.”
