By Jeffrey Cohen | Sports Writer
Playing in the same tournament was a common occurrence for Devin Badenhorst and Luc Koenig growing up in South Africa.
“I was staying at Devin’s house for a tournament in Johannesburg. And of course, the way the universe works is that we draw each other first round at the tournament,” said Koenig, who now plays alongside Badenhorst at Baylor. “We arrived to the tournament late in the morning and we were a bit late, and we had, like, the quickest warmup ever.”
When they were matched up against each other in the first round of a tournament, tensions flared between the two competitive tennis players. Multiple disagreements put them on edge, not even talking to each other afterward.
“Devin ends up beating me, but there were a lot of tight calls from him, a lot of tight calls from me,” Koenig said. “We ended up getting very mad at each other, and the drive on the way home was dead silent.”
Matches like this prove how strong the friendship had grown between the pair of tennis players.
“We’ve always been close enough to get over it,” Koenig said. “Straight back to training after that, it was all done a day later.”
While the drive to win got the best of them at times, it ultimately made them better tennis players. They had multiple chances to improve against each other, as they often met at the end of tournaments as two of the top players in the country.
“We played each other so much growing up because we were two of the best juniors in South Africa,” Badenhorst said. “It’s tough to do that against your best friend, but it was a good experience.”
Like siblings, both players always wanted to come out on top. That desire to say one is better than other made them hit a little harder and play a little faster.
“I didn’t want to lose to him, he didn’t want to lose to me. It was a little bit of bragging rights,” Koenig said. “Our best tennis would come out when we played each other.”
Those ties held true when Koenig joined Baylor before the spring 2023 season. While he got his first taste of college tennis with a 9-8 singles record and 12-12 in doubles, Koenig knew he had to get Badenhorst on board.
“He got to college a year before me, and he told me how good Baylor was,” said Badenhorst, now a junior. “I made the decision to come to Baylor too, and since then, [we’ve] been best friends at college.”
The pair have compiled a 13-9 doubles record together for the Bears. They have grown even closer now in their third season alongside each other in Waco.
One of the more memorable moments between the duo came in Baylor’s upset win over No. 3 Wake Forest on Saturday.
“To share this experience with Devin, us clinching the match against Wake Forest, me grinding it out 7-6 and a third [set], and him finishing just after me,” Koenig said. “It’s going to be really special to carry on doing things like that this season with him.”
After dropping the first two points, the Bears were trying to keep the match alive. With a singles win from junior Connor Van Schalkwyk and senior Zsombor Velcz, the match was even. It was up to Koenig and Badenhorst to finish the comeback.
Both were grinding out decisive third sets that went to a tiebreaker. Koenig came out on top on Court Five 1-6, 7-5, 7-6 (3), leaving all eyes on Court One.
Badenhorst finished the improbable victory with a 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (5) victory and was enveloped by his cheering teammates.
That moment captured Badenhorst and Koenig’s relationship on the court. It showed them the privilege of competing alongside each other and their team.
“When you start traveling by yourself, you realize how valuable it is to be on a team,” Badenhorst said. “Especially if you have your best friend with you, it makes it even more valuable and even more priceless.”
