Born in Danbury, Connecticut, junior Luke Swan came to TCU planning to leave his tennis dreams behind – but he did anything but that.

Swan moved across the pond to Bristol, England. When he was six months old, starting his life in a picturesque town with beautiful scenery and corner pubs

There were tons of trees lining the walkable streets, where Swan would ride his bike every Saturday. He would often walk to sit with his dad while he drank a coffee in the mornings. They would talk about a lot, like school, family and sports.

Swan played many sports in England, but, oddly enough, tennis was not one of them. He fell in love with the sport through his older sister Katie, a top-ranked Under 12 junior player who has since turned professional and has won a total of 11 International Tennis Federation titles.

Swan would watch her travel across the world for eight months at a time, playing tennis and fine-tuning her skills. 

His sister was a big inspiration, and he wanted to be just like her. He began playing tennis after relocating to Wichita, Kansas, at 10 years old.

After years of practice and playing for fun, Swan joined the tennis team in high school. He had never played with a team before high school but absolutely loved the camaraderie. He then launched himself headfirst into high school tennis – and succeeded while doing so.

“High school tennis is one of my favorite memories from Kansas,” said Swan. “Winning back-to-back state championships with my best friends… nothing really compares.”

The back-to-back championships came at age 16 for Swan, who led the team alongside his best friend, Max Wheeler. But after high school, Swan said he felt burned out from tennis, the COVID-19 pandemic and graduation.

TCU was a brand new start. Swan wanted to bring a fresh perspective to Fort Worth when he enrolled in 2021. 

Throughout his freshman year, Swan took advantage of everything that he could. He joined the Beta Theta Pi fraternity, focused on school as a student in the Neeley School of Business and tried to meet as many people as possible.

Fast forward about six months. Swan had an itch in the back of his head. He missed tennis. A lot.

In the spring semester of his freshman year, Swan pushed for the chance to walk onto the men’s tennis team. He knew it would be hard. The Frogs were just coming off of a national championship.

Throughout the summer, Swan traveled around Europe with his sister, serving as her hitting partner to gain experience. When he got back to campus, he knew that he would stop at nothing to make the team. 

Swan hounded coach David Roditi for a tryout. He contacted him through e-mail and through current members on the team, namely Lui Maxtead and Jack Pinnington, who helped him reach Roditi.

Four weeks later, Roditi finally approved a tryout for Swan.

Swan knew the process would be difficult, 14 days of games, sets and matches. If Swan could impress coach Roditi during that time, he’d earn a spot on the team.

He did it by day three.

Since joining the team, Swan has enjoyed and embraced every second. He doesn’t get as much playing time being a walk-on, but he always wants to be the best teammate that he can be.

He motivates his teammates on the court, in the gym, in the classroom and throughout life. He truly loves his teammates – and truly loves the game of tennis. 

“Playing for Roditi is unbelievable,” Swan said. “He really wants the best for his players. He’s a great mentor during this time in my life, and the team wouldn’t be as good as it is without him.”

Swan was part of the team that won the national championship in 2023 and will hold onto that experience for the rest of his life.

Now he looks forward to the future and is excited to grow and develop his tennis skills alongside the rest of the guys. 

“People say that you are only able to do two of three things,” Swan said. “Have a social life, succeed academically and play a sport. If you truly believe you can, all three are possible.”