RRC Scholar Athlete: Francisco Zambon
March 02, 2015 | Men's Tennis
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March 2, 2015
The distance from Campinas, Brazil to the McLeod Tennis Center, home of the Texas Tech tennis teams, is 5,285 miles. If you asked senior Red Raider tennis player Francisco Zambon, making his way to Lubbock to be a student-athlete at Texas Tech has been worth the trek.
While Zambon played tennis professionally as a teenager in Brazil, the option to play competitive tennis while attending college wasn't available at home.
When men's tennis head coach Tim Siegel approached Zambon and his family about the opportunity to play collegiate tennis while earning a degree at Texas Tech, he and his family listened.
"We didn't know much about it," said Zambon. "In Brazil, you don't go to college and play at the same time. My parents didn't know much about it. Once the assistant coach started talking to me and once Siegel starting talking to me, I realized it was the best option for me -- not only to play tennis but also for my professional career after here."
Making the adjustment from life in Brazil to life in West Texas has been a big one for Zambon, especially considering that he had never visited the United States before coming to Texas Tech. The comradery with his teammates has helped make him feel more at home.
"Everything since the beginning was very new for me, but it has been awesome," Zambon said. "It's a huge difference coming here from Brazil, but it helps that we always have a few Brazilians on the team. We hang out on the weekends and it makes you feel more at home, but it's for sure a big difference."
Making the decision to attend Texas Tech would bring forth several new challenges.
Zambon says he has been tested both on the court and in the classroom, but that being a student-athlete at Texas Tech has been the best time of his life. His advisors at the Marsha Sharp Center for Student Athletes and his professors have helped him tremendously.
"They have awesome tutors at the Marsha Sharp Building," Zambon said. "Our advisors are always helping us with talking to professors and letting them know when we are going to miss class. All the professors are always very helpful since we miss a lot of classes, quizzes, and tests. That's something the school is very good with the student athletes because they understand why we leave and the pride we have for our school."
Zambon's parents are both doctors, but the finance major actually looked to another family member for inspiration when deciding what type of degree to pursue.
"I have a brother who is studying economics back in Brazil," Zambon said. "He's working on his degree right now and he really likes it. He told me a lot about this field, so that's how I got to know more about it. That's why I chose it."
While Zambon is a senior on the court, he is a junior in school. He has set his sights on getting more experience in the financial field before graduating, with his collegiate tennis career coming to an end.
"After tennis I still have one more year of school so I'm looking for an internship in the middle of the year," he said. "I really want to go to a big city here in the United States and work in banks or places like that and work with investments."
Players Mentioned
