Pattonville Grad Strode Puts Harvard on Hold To Chase Tennis Dreams

The tennis court or the court of law? Professional tennis player Blake Strode will have to choose between the two for the fourth consecutive year when February 2012 arrives.

Strode, a graduate, has put Harvard Law School and his dream of being an attorney on hold for the past two and a half years. He’s done this to pursue his other dream, that of being a top-shelf pro tennis player.

Strode found out in early 2009 that he was admitted to Harvard, but he deferred the school’s offer in order to give tennis a shot. Strode is now on his third deferral. But with tennis being, as Strode said “a constant grind on a minor-league tennis level,” Harvard Law School is looking like a more viable option with each passing year.

“It very much has been a year-by-year decision,” Strode said. “The first one was fairly easy. That following February, at that point, there just hadn’t been nearly enough time to see what I could do in terms of tennis, so I deferred again. And (Harvard) allowed it again.

“This past February was the toughest one yet, because I’ve been at tennis a little bit longer, and I have a much better idea of what this is like. In the end, I still came down to the decision that I just didn’t want to regret not fully having pursued tennis.”

As of July 18, Strode is ranked 492nd on the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) World Tour. The highest ranking of Strode’s career came in May 2010, when he was ranked No. 483.

Strode has mostly played in Futures tournaments, where he’s compiled a 17-11 record in 2011 and a 54-34 record overall. Strode cites traveling as his favorite part of playing tennis professionally.

“I’ve gotten to travel the world and see a lot of new places, meet some great people and play good tennis,” Strode said. “I’ve played in the US Open twice now, and I’m hoping to get back again. For me, having grown up watching TV all these years, to end up being there is a dream come true.

“There have been way more positives than negatives for sure. It is tough; you have to love tennis. Very few people get to live like (Rafael) Nadal and (Roger) Federer. Most people are grinding away, trying to have their shot to get up at those big major events. There’s a lot of competition, guys from all over the world trying to do the same thing,” he said.

Coming up on Strode’s busy summer schedule is the US Open National Playoffs, which are held August 18-21 in New Haven, CT. Strode won the event last year, which earned him a spot in the US Open qualifying tournament.

“My goal at the moment is all about trying to qualify for the major events,” Strode said. “I want to at least reach being able to play in ‘qualies’ of the major events, which usually means a ranking in the top 300.”

Strode Makes Major Impact at Pattonville High

Strode comes from a family of athletes. His father, Lester Strode, was a minor league pitcher from 1980-1988. He later became the Chicago Cubs’ bullpen coach, a position he has held for five years. Blake’s mother, Angela Strode, and Blake’s sister, Brooke, were also athletes.

Blake was the first person in his family to get into tennis. When he was a 5-year-old he saw a match on TV, which sparked his interest in the sport.

“We were actually in Florida on family vacation,” Angela said. “We were watching tennis, and he saw it and said, ‘I’d like to play.’ We found a local place where he could have lessons. Then, we came home and found a tennis associate here.

“It went from one day a week and before you know it, it blossomed into where he is now,” she said.

Blake attended Pattonville from 2001-2005 and had much success at the school, both athletically and academically. He was one of the valedictorians of his class, but tennis brought Blake the most recognition.

“I knew right from the beginning that Blake was the kind of kid you get like once a career,” said Jeff Grass, Pattonville’s tennis coach. “He came in freshman year, and gosh, he was probably only 5'6", 120 pounds. But he crushed the ball like an adult and had a very consistent, solid game.”

Strode proved Grass to be correct, as he medaled (finished in the top six) in the state tournament all four years at Pattonville. He made it to the semifinals before finishing fourth in his freshman year, while he settled for fifth his sophomore year.

Strode made it to the state championship match his junior year before losing in straight sets. But he wouldn’t be denied a state title his senior year, as he completed a 27-0 season with a 6-3, 7-6 (7-3) win in his final high school match. Blake was the third player in Pattonville history to win a state championship, and he finished his career with a 97-6 record.

“When he won state, it came off a huge disappointment from the year before where he probably should have won,” Angela said. “He’s so resilient. He didn’t give up, didn’t give in, didn’t get sad about it. He just went back to work.”

Tomorrow On Patch: Mom weighs in on the decision to let Harvard wait.