Ben Stapp and Lee Taylor Walker have been doubles partners since last year, but their chemistry resembles that of best friends.
Stapp, a junior from Sydney, Australia, and Walker, a sophomore from Jackson, Tenn., make the Down Under, down south tennis duo an interesting match on and off the court.
When the two aren’t playing tennis, they still spend time together. When they’re not training, they’re spending time at Stapp’s house just off campus.
“We just sit and stare at the TV all day,” Walker said. “I watched college football all Saturday and then the NFL on Sunday.”
Walker, a former high school athlete of the year and transfer from Clemson University, said he loves basketball.
In fact, the former point guard led his high school team, The University School of Jackson, to a 21-7 record.
Stapp is also interested in sports other than tennis.
He was a member of the golf, track and rugby teams at St. Joseph’s College in Sydney. Stapp said he also likes the water.
“I love surfing,” the former swim team member said.
Before coming to Memphis, Stapp was hoping that Memphis was near a large body of water.
“I didn’t know where Memphis was when I came here,” Stapp said.
Walker, who was aware of Memphis’ surroundings, knew that wasn’t the case.
“He was hoping Memphis was on the beach,” Walker said with a smirk.
Now that both men have arrived, they’re concentrating on winning matches. Walker said playing doubles helps them to do that.
Although he and Stapp like playing singles, they both agree that doubles are easier because there’s someone else when one of them is upset.
“We call ourselves ‘Fruit Loops,’ Walker said. “We’re kind of a head case, we get real frustrated sometimes.”
Despite whatever drama they might experience on the court, Stapp said they really have fun together on the court.
“Even though it’s intense, we laugh,” Stapp said.
The duo has other ways to stay on top of their games on the court — talking trash. Walker said trash talking is an art that many don’t know exists in tennis.
“People think there’s not any trash talking in tennis,” Walker said.
“I talk to basketball and football players, and they say, ‘oh, that gay sport.’ But it gets pretty dirty sometimes.”
Whatever means the team uses seems to be paying dividends.
Stapp and Walker were the only seeded doubles team to advance to the quarterfinals of the ITA tournament. However, they fell short to Alabama in the finals of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Region III Indoor Championships on Monday.
As a pair, they’re ranked top 20 in the nation with a goal of becoming All-American. They’re also working to be the number one seed for the NCAA tourney in May.
Although the duo is excelling, Stapp and Walker still have work to do. Both said they’re improving a lingering problem.
“Our biggest weakness is our attitude, ” Stapp said. “It’s mental, sometimes we just don’t trust ourselves as much. But now we’re getting pretty sharp.”
