Tennis player overcomes stress fractures to earn spot at Florida State

Ty Braswell was proud of his son, Micah Braswell, for lots of reasons when Micah committed to play tennis Sept. 25 at Florida State University in Tallahassee.

The Laurel Oak Country Club tennis director and reigning USPTA regional “Professional of the Year” was proud, for one thing, because it’s where he himself played college tennis and was an assistant coach from 2000-2004. Ty Braswell got to know current Seminoles head coach Dwayne Hultquist while there. Braswell said he knows Hultquist will help Micah, a five-star player, according to the Tennis Recruiting Network (35th nationally), grow not just as a player, but as a person. Most of the time, coaches are unknown, he said, but at FSU, he knows Micah will essentially have a second family.

He’s also proud of Micah, a 2020 grad, for making his own decision. Despite the familial connections at FSU, Micah did consider other schools, including the universities of Florida, Oklahoma and Wake Forest. Micah said the decision came down to where he felt most comfortable.

“Everyone helps you out there,” Micah said. “The campus is awesome. There are indoor and outdoor courts, a nice gym. It has everything you need to improve as a tennis player.”

The thing Ty Braswell is most proud of, though, is Micah’s perseverance. When Micah was 12, he suffered a stress fracture of his L5 vertebrae. He was in a back brace for four months. The recovery process was rough, Micah said. He’d start training, then suffer a another frature and had to reset the timetable. He suffered three stress fractures in total. By the time he was able to play in a competitive tournament again, nearly two years had passed.

And that was just the beginning of recovery. Tennis is a game of confidence, Micah said. Everyone at the top level can hit the ball hard and accurately. Players have to play bold to win. When Micah returned from injury, the swagger he had previously wasn’t there.

“After the injury, we weren’t sure if he was going be able to handle that mentally, the time lost,” Ty said. “It took a long time. At one point, I took him aside and said, ‘Man, I’m just not sure. Tennis isn’t your (whole) life. If you want to do this, you have to get to the point where you believe it can happen.’”

It took a long time. Micah said he would get frustrated when he lost to players he used to beat with regularity. Instead of stopping, he decided to keep pushing himself. When he was out with the injury, he mostly stayed indoors and played "Call of Duty" with his friends. He got bored quickly, he said. He needed tennis to stay in his life. 

“I knew what it felt like to have that confidence you need,” Micah said. “I knew I could get it back.”

Over the past 18 months, Ty said, Micah’s mindset has slowly returned, and top-flight tennis came with it. After falling out of the rankings, he’s back in the upper echelon. He even won a chance to compete in April in the Sarasota Open, a United States Pro Tennis Association event, hosted by Laurel Oak. Micah said that experience was unlike anything else he’s done, with a big cheering section. He lost to Strong Kirchheimer 6-4, 6-3, but he’ll remember the experience forever.

Swapping his dad hat for a coaching one, Ty said the Seminoles are getting a player whose best skill is his movement.

“He’s athletic and covers the court well,” Ty said. “He plays with no fear. He plays aggressive and loose.”

Micah said he’s still working on his play at the net, and that when his serve is working, his game is at its height. He credits Ty with having him throw a football around before practice in an effort to improve Micah’s serve, and it worked.

Micah still has time to get better, too. If he was able to overcome two lost years on the court, there’s no telling what the future holds for him.