At 14, Krajicek enrolled at IMG Academy in Bradenton, where Nick Bollettieri was known to breed future champions under the often sweltering Florida sun. At 18, Krajicek won the US Junior National Championship in Kalamazoo, Michigan and was toying with turning pro. He instead chose to attend Texas A&M to give his body and game a few more years to develop. In 2011, he won the NCAA men’s doubles title.
Then it was time to play for his next meal.
Traveling to the major tennis leagues includes a few stops in major world capitals like Paris and London, but players can spend far more nights in destinations like Binghamton, NY; Aptos, California; Rimouski, Quebec; and Gimcheon, South Korea. There are terrible hotels, lots of bad meals and lots of empty grandstands. Or no grandstands at all.
Krajicek was a freshly turned pro playing at a small tournament in Champaign, Illinois when he met Kedzierski, a veteran tennis player at the University of Illinois. A friend of Kedzierski’s had a crush on Krajicek but was too nervous to get in touch. Kedzierski got his number and texted him on behalf of her friend, only to be told that Krajicek was interested in Kedzierski.
They had their first dinner two months later in Maui when they realized they were both there for tennis competitions. Nice guy, she thought.
After graduating, she moved to Los Angeles to work for a stylist in the entertainment industry. A master couchsurfer who often stayed at the vacation homes of wealthy tennis players, Krajicek used Los Angeles as a training base. He started staying at Kedzierski’s, showed up with his tennis bag and a suitcase, trained for a week or two, and then hit the road again.