Olympic silver medalist Austin Krajicek grew up watching tennis. From seeing the legends of the game on VHS tapes to sitting on the sidelines while his dad played in local leagues, Krajicek was eager to start playing at the Brandon Swim and Tennis Club, known today as High 5 Inc.
Now, almost 30 years later, he has won his first Olympic medal in the men’s doubles tournament in Paris.
He had a dream of playing professionally, but he knew it was a goal that only a small handful of aspiring athletes achieved.
“Sometimes I think you have to be a little bit unrealistic to meet some of these higher goals,” Krajicek said.
His father motivated him by instilling in him the belief that he could do whatever he wanted to do. So, he did.
After attending Alafia Elementary School in Valrico, he started homeschooling in middle school so he could play travel tennis full time. As a teenager, he was traveling internationally to play tournaments and training with a private coach.
After high school at IMG Academy, a local preparatory boarding school for athletes, he signed on with Texas A&M University as a Division I athlete.
“I think even before college, I was like, ‘OK, I’m definitely going to give it a shot at the pro tour.’ And then in school, in college, I had some good results,” he said.
He won the NCAA doubles championship in his final year of college before joining the ATP Tour in 2011.
A decade later, he became an Olympic athlete in the Tokyo games but faced the hardest loss of his career when he came in fourth.
Last year, he was ranked the number one duo in the world with his partner. This year, he finally became an Olympic medalist alongside Rajeev Ram, his partner and fellow U.S. tennis Olympian from Carmel, Indiana. Ram is a three-time Olympian, two-time Olympic medalist (two silvers) in tennis doubles, including France 2024 and Rio 2016.
“It’s hard to put into words,” Krajicek said. “It really is a pretty awesome event.”
“The outpouring of support was a little bit overwhelming,” he said. “It was really special to see how big of a deal it was and important. And I think that makes it ultra special and something that we’ll never forget.”
High 5 Inc. CEO Chuck Burgess couldn’t be more proud to know another Olympic athlete from the High 5 community.
“We are so proud of the caliber of athletes that got their start here, and we want to continue the legacy into the future. Congratulations, Austin, and know you continue to inspire your hometown athletes.”