Duke’s loss of men’s tennis standout Martin Redlicki is UCLA’s gain

It was arguably the biggest stage so far in Martin Redlicki’s life.

He was serving at match point in the finals of the 2013 U.S. Open Junior Boys’ Doubles Championship, one of the four Grand Slam tournaments, after a Cinderella run that included upsetting the No. 1 seed in the first round.

Redlicki did not waste time as he tossed the ball up and slammed an ace. He then dropped his racket, raised his arms and looked towards his parents, who were standing up and cheering courtside.

After the win, Redlicki sat down for a press conference.

“Any second thoughts about playing college tennis now?” a reporter asked.

“I don’t think so – I’m committed to Duke,” the then-18-year-old replied.

The Blue Devils seemed like a perfect destination for the blue-chip recruit – they were a top-15 tennis program with elite academics and four of the nation’s top-100 singles players, including his older brother, Michael Redlicki.

The entire Redlicki family wanted the two brothers to win a NCAA championship together, so Martin Redlicki verbally committed to Duke the summer before his senior year of high school.

But the recruiting process was far from over. By May, Martin Redlicki successfully requested a release from his National Letter of Intent, reopening his recruitment merely three months before the start of the school year.

His decision coincided with Michael Redlicki’s choice to leave Duke and play tennis elsewhere.

“My brother had a conflict with the coach and decided not to play his third year, so he redshirted that year at Duke,” the younger Redlicki said. “I didn’t want to go there because it just wasn’t gonna be a good fit, and I didn’t like the way they treated my brother.”

Michael Redlicki was a blue-chip recruit and part of Duke’s No. 3-ranked recruiting class in 2012. He found success as soon as he stepped foot in Durham, North Carolina.

Rated as the No. 1 newcomer in the ITA preseason rankings for 2012-2013, he racked up 31 singles wins and 25 doubles wins for the Blue Devils, earning ITA Carolina Region Rookie of the Year honors.

As a sophomore, Michael Redlicki jumped up to No. 1 singles and racked up 15 wins before conference play began with a dual match against the Virginia Tech Hokies on March 21, 2014. Duke had already clinched the win with an insurmountable 4-1 lead when he lost his singles match in three sets.

Michael Redlicki’s relationship with the coaches then inexplicably turned upside-down. Duke’s head coach, Ramsey Smith, said via email that things just didn’t work out. After that day, Michael Redlicki never played another point of tennis for the Blue Devils.

“It was not Michael’s decision to stop playing at Duke and to tell you the truth, up to this day, we have yet to figure out why this was the case,” said his mom Beata Redlicki. “Martin knew he didn’t want to go there because the reason was to win the championship with his brother, and that opportunity was taken away from him.”

So while most recruits were preparing for the start of the fall collegiate tennis season, Martin Redlicki found himself back on the recruiting trail.

Coaches from Oklahoma, USC and other schools contacted him almost immediately, but one head coach in particular stood out – UCLA’s Billy Martin.

Martin was in Las Vegas with friends and family when he heard the news about Martin Redlicki’s decommitment. One of Martin’s best players, Marcos Giron, told the coach earlier in the week that he decided to leave college and go pro after winning the 2013 NCAA Singles Championship, leaving UCLA with a gaping hole at the top of the lineup. Martin set his sights on the 6-foot-5 lefty from Boca Raton, Florida, to fill that void.

“I cut (my trip) short by a couple of days to fly directly from Las Vegas – it was just that important to our team to try to get him,” Martin said. “I knew other schools would be very interested and time was of the essence, so we were gonna do what we needed to do ASAP.”

Within 48 hours of Martin Redlicki’s NLI release, Billy Martin was in the family’s living room. The pitch wasn’t anything special – Martin said it was the same he tried to give all UCLA’s recruits, but hearing him out face-to-face in an intimate setting sold the Redlickis.

“We knew right there and then, when Billy was sitting in the living room with us, that that was the right way to go,” Beata Redlicki said. “That was the coach Martin (Redlicki) knew he wanted to play for.”

What Billy Martin thought was devastating to his team – Giron’s decision to turn pro early – ironically was what ultimately enabled Martin Redlicki to become a Bruin.

Each NCAA Division I tennis program is allowed to give 4.5 full scholarships. Giron leaving UCLA freed enough money to offer Martin Redlicki a substantial financial aid package.

That sealed the deal.

“The one good thing was that we had a lot of scholarship available because Marcos was under a lot,” Martin said. “At that point in time in June, usually (the scholarships) have all been given away. We were in somewhat of a fortunate situation to be able to come up with a fair amount of scholarship (for Martin Redlicki).”

About a week after Martin’s trip to Florida, Martin Redlicki officially committed to UCLA.

Martin Redlicki spent the summer before arriving at UCLA competing in professional doubles tournaments around the U.S. with current Bruin Mackie McDonald. Once the collegiate season started, Martin Redlicki stepped into an important role right away for the Bruins, manning the No. 2 and No. 3 singles positions as well as the No. 1 doubles position with McDonald.

Martin and Michael Redlicki had almost similar freshman seasons. The younger Redlicki finished his rookie campaign with 26 singles wins, 24 doubles wins and an ITA Southwest Region Rookie of the Year award.

He credits his success and growth to UCLA’s coaching staff, especially coach Martin, who worked on perfecting the finer physical and mental aspects of his game.

“Billy’s track record is one of the best, if not the best, in the country,” Martin Redlicki said. “When we work one-on-one, you can just tell his knowledge of the game is incredible. … He was one of the best juniors of all time and a top-30 ATP professional, and just working with him on a daily basis, it’s not hard to see why.”

Despite the failed Duke experiment, both brothers have wound up in successful collegiate programs.

Now a sophomore, Martin Redlicki has carved out a home in Westwood even though the rest of his family is on the other side of the country. Michael Redlicki is in his first year at the Arkansas as a graduate transfer.

And if they needed any extra validation, UCLA is ranked No. 2 in the country and Arkansas No. 19.

Duke University?

No. 75.