DURHAM – Former Blue Devil TJ Pura is set to rejoin the Duke men’s tennis staff, Duke head coach Ramsey Smith announced Friday.
Pura, who served as Duke’s volunteer assistant coach for the 2022-23 season, will return as the Blue Devils’ first assistant coach. He comes back to Durham after spending one season (2023-24) as the first assistant coach at Vanderbilt University. While in Nashville, Pura helped the Commodores to their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2019 and mentored 2024 SEC Freshman of the Year and at-large NCAA Singles participant, Danil Panarin. Vanderbilt jumped from No. 72 in the national rankings the year before Pura arrived to a final 2024 ranking of No. 42. Additionally, Pura helped recruit nine players to the program and aided in execution of the Commodores’ NIL strategy.
“I am thrilled to welcome TJ back home to Duke,” Smith said. “This is a historic day for Duke Men’s Tennis. TJ occupies a very special place in my heart, and he is undoubtedly a one-of-a-kind coach and mentor to our student-athletes. I recruited TJ, coached him through his four years at Duke, and remember encouraging him just a couple years ago to leave his corporate career and pursue his calling as a college tennis coach. I think TJ is the most impressive under-30 coach, mentor, motivator, energizer, and leader in the country. He holds a deep passion for life, people, development, growth, and he is committed to lifelong education in these areas. TJ has an endless motor and tirelessly invests in the student-athletes he works with. I am so excited to collaborate with TJ at Duke and build on the positive momentum within our men’s tennis program.”
Pura was a member of the Duke program from 2013-17 and earned Third Team All-ACC honors in 2017. The two-time team captain graduated sixth in program history with 30 career ACC singles wins and tied for seventh in most career ACC singles matches played with 41. Pura also ended his career tied for first in single-season ACC singles wins (11) and singles winning percentage (1.000; 11-0) during his senior year. In addition, he compiled the longest single-season ACC winning streak in program history when he went 11-0 during a stretch in 2016-17.
For those efforts, Pura was named the 2017 Intercollegiate Tennis Association’s Carolina Region Most Improved Senior and recipient…
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