By Aidan O’Connor | Sports Writer
During his time on the ATP tour, former No. 1 player in the world Andy Murray was a force to be reckoned with. Few could keep up with him, but at just 17 years old Baylor men’s tennis sophomore Louis Bowden was one of those few.
“[Andy Murray] was always my idol growing up,” Bowden said. “I got good enough around 16, 17 that I was able to hit with him. It definitely pushed me to play better and work harder. And then also Jack Draper — he was pretty young a couple of years ago when I was coming up — and just watching him train and stuff was pretty inspirational.”
Bowden grew up learning from top players like Murray and current ATP No. 6 Draper. He developed into one of the most promising British players in juniors. Throughout his time in juniors, he appeared as a finalist in numerous tournaments across Europe, won the 2021 J3 Les Franqueses del Vallès title and reached the main draw of some of the world’s most prestigious junior tournaments, including Wimbledon and the Australian Open.
“He understands the competition, he understands the level,” Baylor men’s tennis head coach Michael Woodson said. “He knows what it takes to win at the highest level of junior tennis and the junior Grand Slams, and I think we need that.”
Bowden’s success in juniors gave him the option to go pro or play college tennis. He drew significant interest from universities. While the option of going pro was tantalizing, Bowden still wanted the college experience.
With more collegiate players going on tour after graduating than in past years, he realized he could do both. After many visits and careful consideration, one place stood above the rest: Baylor.
“I liked the coaches,” Bowden said. “I got to know the coaches well and heard great things about the program. I knew some of the guys on the team and knew they were great players … [and] I just wanted to get a good education at Baylor.”
Bowden had an up-and-down freshman season. It was hard to find playing time on a ranked team, and he was still adjusting to college tennis. He found success, earning the 2024 Texas Region Rafael Osuna Sportsmanship Award and the 2023 Team Big 12 MVP during the Big 12/SEC Challenge.
Even with the bright spots, Bowden couldn’t keep the accolades rolling. He finished the year with a losing record in singles and played just three doubles matches.
“In the first year I struggled to make the doubles lineup because a lot of the guys were very, very good at doubles,” Bowden said. “I got to watch a lot of them playing and see how good they were at the net and how aggressive they were. It was good to see. This year, I’ve been able to play a bit more, and from watching the first year, I’ve been able to try to be a bit more aggressive.”
Bowden spent the entire summer tightening up his game to break into the lineup in 2024-25. He focused on becoming more aggressive at the net and improving his serve. He made strides across the board and entered the new season ready to prove himself in dual matches.
“He’s put a lot of time in on his serve, on his transition game, movement at the net and doubles, and I think you’ve seen a ton of improvement in those areas,” Woodson said. “I think the biggest thing for him is he’s just much more comfortable in dual matches.”
The work during the summer paid off immediately, as he improved on every front this spring. In singles dual matches, he sits at 7-7, up from 8-10 last year. In doubles, he’s jumped to 9- 5 compared to 1-1. Much of that success can be attributed to the connection he’s built with junior Zsombor Velcz.
“We didn’t really practice before the coaches said, ‘OK, let’s put you guys together,’” Velcz said. “I feel like we got used to each other pretty quickly. We felt our rhythm. I felt like we had a couple of good wins [that] just helped us, helped the team to secure doubles points and maybe win matches.”
Velcz and Bowden had success together right off the bat, starting out with four straight wins. Now in Big 12 play, Bowden hopes to carry that improvement into the most important part of the year.
“Louis is a bulldog,” Woodson said. “He’s a huge fighter. He loves to compete all the time, no matter what it is. On the court, off of the court, anything that we’re doing in practice — he wants to be the winner, and I think that makes a huge impact on the team.”
With the Big 12 and NCAA Team Championships only a couple of matches away, Bowden’s experience and growth have set him up to make a real impact. From his experience playing on big stages to becoming a reliable dual-match option, whether in singles or with Velcz in doubles, Bowden hopes the Bears are primed to acquire some new hardware.
The 16th-ranked Bears will be back in action against Texas Tech at 6 p.m. Thursday at the Hurd Tennis Center.
