When sophomore men’s tennis player Rafael Ymer arrived at Elon last year, toward the end of January, he admitted that it took a little time to adjust to a new setting. He was coming from Stockholm, Sweden, by himself and would be playing tennis away from home for the first time.
“I struggled a little bit in the beginning,” Ymer said. “I didn’t have family or anything here.”
But as the season got under full swing, Ymer showcased the skills that made him the team’s top freshman and second-best singles player. He led the team in singles wins with 11 and reeled off seven consecutive victories in doubles by the season’s end. Ymer finished the year All-Coastal Athletic Association first team for singles and second team for doubles.
In order to get to the position he’s in now, Ymer said there were multiple communities that helped him feel welcome on campus. Ymer said the different support circles from his academic adviser to members of Elon Athletics helped him navigate his early experience at Elon and become more comfortable both socially and as a student-athlete.
“There were lots of different communities that were very supportive and they all had great camaraderie,” Ymer said. “The support system at Elon has also been really good in terms of succeeding as a student athlete with our strength coach Kell [Smith] and my academic adviser.”
Ymer said the amount of support has guided him to the position he is now. He said he appreciates all the help from the people around him and hopes his story can help other people recognize how beneficial it is to rely on different support systems at Elon.
“I want to use this also as a way of showing gratitude to the people that’s been helping me,” Ymer said. “I think it means a lot for these people if they see that he’s actually thanking us online, or like giving us praise like this.”
As Ymer became comfortable off the court, his life on the team also began to flourish. He began to become more accustomed to playing on a team rather than by himself. Ymer said it was a significant change at first because he was used to playing only singles back home.
“I think the biggest key was that I needed to understand that there was, like the team aspect, and it wasn’t all about you,” Ymer said. “I can tend to be a bit self-centered at times, but in college you have to see it from everyone’s perspective.”
Ymer said that understanding the team aspect of play took time. He acknowledged that his personality may not be like everyone else on the team.
Ymer said he can sometimes be more direct than usual, but not in a negative way. He said once he got to know his teammates better, and vice versa, everyone’s performance rapidly improved.
“I can be straight up, or different,” Ymer said. “It took a while for everyone on the team to understand me, but as soon as that bridge was crossed, I feel like we managed to understand each other way better, and that made us able to perform better and a little more for one another.”
Head coach Maciek Sykut has particularly gotten the chance to witness Ymer’s growth. He described him as a very determined player who’s self-driven and always striving to achieve success.
“The work he puts in every day really enables him to find success,” Skyut said. “The sky’s the limit.”
Skyut said Ymer’s experience also made him ready to handle high-pressure moments. He said it was one reason why Ymer had the No. 2 singles spot on the team as a freshman.
“He’s been exposed to the high levels of tennis,” Skyut said. “I don’t think he’s afraid of facing anyone on the other side of the net.”
But what impressed Skyut the most is Ymer’s maturity. Skyut said it has a significant effect on the other players, and credited Ymer for choosing the people he surrounds himself with. He said he’ll see Ymer and other players continuing to work on their skills after practice regularly.
“It’s really who you spend time with,” Skyut said. “There’s already a group you know, that’s kind of getting together, and they’re doing some extra work outside of what we’re asking them to do. Those habits spread.”
For Ymer, the college season is much different in America. Whereas the season in Europe is evaluated in a longer time frame, the CAA tournament is what defines a team’s fate by the end of the year.
“I was a little bit surprised how, like, three days of your season is gonna decide whether you had a successful season or not,” Ymer said. “Because in Europe you usually have 11 months to prove yourself, and all you need is basically one good week to have a good year.”
Ymer said he wants a shot at redemption after losing the 2025 CAA Men’s Tennis Championship, Elon’s fifth straight loss in the finals. He believes that his growth as a player and person should be what defines the season. He said he will do everything possible to win the championship, but sees his improvement as something that will develop over time.
“I wouldn’t want it to determine whether it was a good year or not,” Ymer said. “I will do everything in my power to improve not just for myself but for the team. I try not to put too much weight on that and treat every match the same because I think it will be easier.”