Krawczyk Represents Sun Devils With Pride, Winning On The Big Stages In Tennis

For Sun Devil alumnus Desirae Krawczyk, class of 2016, her introduction to the sport of tennis came at an early age.

Krawczyk’s father would bring her along to matches at his club in her hometown of Palm Desert, California. Soon, her own affinity for the sport started to take hold.

“I just followed him around and started taking lessons,” Krawczyk said. “I got my first racket when I was young and started playing at local events in the valley.”

Along with Krawczyk competing locally, another factor that contributed to her infatuation with the sport was volunteering at one of the biggest tournaments in the world: the Indian Wells Masters.

“I spent two weeks every year being a ‘ball kid’ for that tournament and interacting with all these top players,” Krawczyk said. “As a young kid, it was a dream to do. Being on the court with these top players, it was exciting. You’re like, ‘Wow, I want to do what they do.’”

Now, she is doing exactly that.

Krawczyk is currently ranked No. 16 in the world in doubles in the Women’s Tennis Association and just had one of the most successful seasons of her young career.

In July 2022, Krawczyk achieved her highest career ranking in the world at No. 10 and currently has amassed seven doubles titles, according to the WTA website. She’s a four-time mixed Grand Slam champion, including a recent win at Wimbledon in July, where she also reached the Women’s Doubles semifinal alongside Danielle Collins. Krawczyk was vying to become the first person to win two titles at the same Wimbledon since Serena Williams in 2016 (singles and doubles).

Despite her success thus far professionally, Krawczyk did not take any time to smell the flowers during the season. Instead, she looked ahead to the tournaments that followed, playing both women’s doubles and mixed doubles competitions. 

Evidently, that worked to her benefit.

“I did really well. I won three grand slams, which I couldn’t even believe,” Krawczyk said. “But I think for me, I didn’t even really evaluate what I did last year. It kind of was just, ‘Okay, next tournament. We go to the next tournament.’ And you just keep going until you hit the offseason and you reflect on everything you’ve done.”