Senior Tour Profile

Hopchik: Blue collar pride on the Senior Tour

Boise--Harlan Hopchik is comfortable at the Boise Racquet and Swim Club, the jovial, likable player comes from a blue collar Philadelphia family and the homey clubhouse atmosphere at the BRSC suits him, despite that fact that he teaches tennis at the Anatole Club, one of the swankiest clubs in Dallas.

“So basically I started as self taught player out of Philadelphia, and I learned on the public courts. I was a football player, played baseball but wanted a lifetime sport so I gravitated for tennis.

Hopchik is a self professed over-achiever. After a successful junior college tennis career he walked on at Florida State and to the shock of the Philly tennis crowd, made the team. He was a grinder on the courts, getting by on speed and guts and that grit and passion carried over into his life.

“All the sudden I could see that I could play tennis, I became a teaching pro and I was good at it. I teach people from all over the world and juniors as well. I’m patient, a good communicator and I’m very good at footwork and point production. What made me a good tennis player made me a better pro, I wanted it badly, I wanted to excel at something on my own and I’ve done that,” said Hopchik.

The adopted Texan is a late-starter in life, but the late start in tennis and career actually worked to his advantage, it game him perspective and more importantly it brought a love to the sport but it also brought national rankings that validated what he knew all along, that he belonged on the tour.

“I’m ranked #4 in Texas in men’s 55,” Hopchik says with pride. “Im ranked #53 in the United States, 25^th doubles! I have been ranked as high as 13^th in the country in the Men’s 50’s, so for a guy that hasn’t played pro tennis, its remarkable what I have done. Yet Hopchik admits that the tour is a work in progress.“The best I have ever done in a National Tournament is the round of 16 in Savannah,Georgia. Other than that I usually get to the second round. But I love what I’m doing, I love the guys on the tour.

Hopchik says tennis is larger than life: “Its very important, it keeps you healthy, its good for your mind, it’s a great way of meeting people from all around the world and at the same time you are learning a craft/skill that you can play into your 80’s or 90’s.

Harlan Hopchik is what's right with the game, he plays with unbounded joy and he’s looking to get better with each match, that’s what keeps him young.