‘Boring’ Tennis Working For Colby
April 01, 2025 | Men's Tennis, The Frierson Files
By John Frierson
Staff Writer
Ryan Colby has the skills and self-confidence to go for and oftentimes hit remarkable shots from almost anywhere on the tennis court. A running crosscourt forehand here, a drop shot from the baseline there. He plays with touch, power and a shot-maker's creativity.
"To me, he's the cleanest ball-striker I've almost ever seen play tennis," Georgia teammate and fellow senior Thomas Paulsell said. "He could not play tennis for a month, and then go out there and just find the ball immediately — so clean."
Colby is Georgia's highest-ranked singles player at No. 27 in this week's ITA computer rankings, followed by Paulsell at No. 32. Colby, from Alexandria, Va., is 22-11 overall in the 2024-25 season and 11-4 in dual matches. Heading into Thursday's match at Florida, No. 26-ranked Georgia (14-7, 7-3 SEC) has won seven of its past eight matches, and Colby's singles play at the No. 2 spot is a big reason why. He's won his last five completed matches and seven of his last eight.
When you have all the shots, and the belief in yourself that you can pull them off in most any situation, it can be hard to resist the urge to go for the big one, even if it's not a high-percentage play. Of course, part of maturing and growing as a person and a player is learning when to do the smart or right or "boring" thing.
"I think the big problem for me was that I know that I can hit almost any shot anywhere on the court, but it's just knowing when to use it," Colby said.
"Honestly, we use the term 'boring' just because he's so talented," said Bulldogs first-year head coach Jamie Hunt, a key player on Georgia's 2007 and '08 NCAA title-winning teams. "I think every time he's standing over a ball, he's got probably three or four things that he could do, when I could do probably just one."
Having Colby's skills, Hunt said, can be "a blessing and a curse at the same time." A well-executed difficult shot for a winner can both lift the player, his team and the crowd, while also demoralizing or frustrating your opponent. On the other hand, when that hero shot goes poorly, as they sometimes or often do, hence why they are lower-percentage plays, you've handed your opponent a point they didn't really earn.
"He can come up with some just incredible shots, but at the same time, the difficulty level of those shots is a lot harder," Hunt said.
Colby, in his second season at Georgia after beginning his career at USC, likes going for those difficult shots. He likes seeing what he can come up with when given the chance. But he also likes winning. And by forgoing a lot of the lower-percentage shots that he might have gone for before — by going for "boring" instead — Colby is doing a lot of winning this spring.
"I think the whole coaching staff has really kind of pushed this kind of Plan B tennis, where it's just, Hey, let's play very disciplined, boring tennis. And then that turns into Plan A, where it's like, then you can let your creativity take over when you've worked the point and you've earned the short ball and then you can come forward," Hunt said. "And if you want to slice it and come in, or drop shot or rip it and come in, then you can do that."
Last Saturday, in Georgia's 6-1 win over Ole Miss at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex, on a day when the program was celebrating both the extraordinary career of former head coach Manuel Diaz and the 40th anniversary of Georgia's first NCAA title, in 1985, it was Colby that delivered the clinching singles victory. It was his eighth career clinching win at the No. 2 spot.
"I'm just going out there with a good attitude and attacking every point with everything I've got," he said.
When Colby decided to leave USC after two years, he wanted to go somewhere that reignited his passion for tennis. He has definitely found that at Georgia.
"I feel like I'm loving the sport," he said, "like I just want to get out here as much as I can."
Paulsell, who has often played doubles with Colby, said Colby bought into the long-established Georgia culture quickly and has been an excellent teammate since he arrived in Athens.
"And look at him now, he's amazing," Paulsell said.
As the Georgia men's tennis team heads into the closing stretch of its regular season, with just four matches to go before the SEC tournament, Colby is playing as well as he ever has. You might say it's boringly beautiful, like a sunset without any clouds, and you might be right. But there are no style points in tennis, just the chase for games and sets. And Colby is winning a lot of those these days.
Staff Writer
Ryan Colby has the skills and self-confidence to go for and oftentimes hit remarkable shots from almost anywhere on the tennis court. A running crosscourt forehand here, a drop shot from the baseline there. He plays with touch, power and a shot-maker's creativity.
"To me, he's the cleanest ball-striker I've almost ever seen play tennis," Georgia teammate and fellow senior Thomas Paulsell said. "He could not play tennis for a month, and then go out there and just find the ball immediately — so clean."
Colby is Georgia's highest-ranked singles player at No. 27 in this week's ITA computer rankings, followed by Paulsell at No. 32. Colby, from Alexandria, Va., is 22-11 overall in the 2024-25 season and 11-4 in dual matches. Heading into Thursday's match at Florida, No. 26-ranked Georgia (14-7, 7-3 SEC) has won seven of its past eight matches, and Colby's singles play at the No. 2 spot is a big reason why. He's won his last five completed matches and seven of his last eight.
When you have all the shots, and the belief in yourself that you can pull them off in most any situation, it can be hard to resist the urge to go for the big one, even if it's not a high-percentage play. Of course, part of maturing and growing as a person and a player is learning when to do the smart or right or "boring" thing.
"I think the big problem for me was that I know that I can hit almost any shot anywhere on the court, but it's just knowing when to use it," Colby said.
"Honestly, we use the term 'boring' just because he's so talented," said Bulldogs first-year head coach Jamie Hunt, a key player on Georgia's 2007 and '08 NCAA title-winning teams. "I think every time he's standing over a ball, he's got probably three or four things that he could do, when I could do probably just one."
Having Colby's skills, Hunt said, can be "a blessing and a curse at the same time." A well-executed difficult shot for a winner can both lift the player, his team and the crowd, while also demoralizing or frustrating your opponent. On the other hand, when that hero shot goes poorly, as they sometimes or often do, hence why they are lower-percentage plays, you've handed your opponent a point they didn't really earn.
"He can come up with some just incredible shots, but at the same time, the difficulty level of those shots is a lot harder," Hunt said.
Colby, in his second season at Georgia after beginning his career at USC, likes going for those difficult shots. He likes seeing what he can come up with when given the chance. But he also likes winning. And by forgoing a lot of the lower-percentage shots that he might have gone for before — by going for "boring" instead — Colby is doing a lot of winning this spring.
"I think the whole coaching staff has really kind of pushed this kind of Plan B tennis, where it's just, Hey, let's play very disciplined, boring tennis. And then that turns into Plan A, where it's like, then you can let your creativity take over when you've worked the point and you've earned the short ball and then you can come forward," Hunt said. "And if you want to slice it and come in, or drop shot or rip it and come in, then you can do that."
Last Saturday, in Georgia's 6-1 win over Ole Miss at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex, on a day when the program was celebrating both the extraordinary career of former head coach Manuel Diaz and the 40th anniversary of Georgia's first NCAA title, in 1985, it was Colby that delivered the clinching singles victory. It was his eighth career clinching win at the No. 2 spot.
"I'm just going out there with a good attitude and attacking every point with everything I've got," he said.
When Colby decided to leave USC after two years, he wanted to go somewhere that reignited his passion for tennis. He has definitely found that at Georgia.
"I feel like I'm loving the sport," he said, "like I just want to get out here as much as I can."
Paulsell, who has often played doubles with Colby, said Colby bought into the long-established Georgia culture quickly and has been an excellent teammate since he arrived in Athens.
"And look at him now, he's amazing," Paulsell said.
As the Georgia men's tennis team heads into the closing stretch of its regular season, with just four matches to go before the SEC tournament, Colby is playing as well as he ever has. You might say it's boringly beautiful, like a sunset without any clouds, and you might be right. But there are no style points in tennis, just the chase for games and sets. And Colby is winning a lot of those these days.
Assistant Sports Communications Director John Frierson is the staff writer for the UGA Athletic Association and curator of the ITA Men's Tennis Hall of Fame. You can find his work at: Frierson Files.
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
Georgia Men's Tennis NCAA Round 2 vs NC State - Postmatch Interview - Coach Hunt
Sunday, May 04
Georgia Men's Tennis NCAA Round 1 vs UNCW - Video Recap
Saturday, May 03
Georgia Men's Tennis SEC Tournament vs Oklahoma Post-match Interview - Coach Hunt
Thursday, April 17
Georgia Men's Tennis Feature - Lifelong Bond: Miguel Perez Peña and Oscar Pinto Sansano
Tuesday, April 15
