Lorenzo Korehisa is a tennis athlete for the University of Wisconsin-Superior’s men’s tennis team.

Korehisa has been playing tennis for about 11 years now. In his hometown of Rio Grande da Serra, a small town near São Paulo, Brazil, an early childhood memory of playing tennis is when he’d hit the ball against the wall inside his house while it rained.

Korehisa chose UWS because the university gave him the opportunity to play, the university matched his grades, budgets, and competition level.

“The team is really united,” Korehisa said about the team as a whole. Head Coach Ceejay Schaffner points to Korehisa as a reason for that. “His dedication to getting a little better everyday inspires his teammates to be better players and inspires me to be a better coach,” Schaffner said.

Korehisa on the outdoor UWS tennis courts. | Photo by Paul James

Lorenzo has had quite a few coaches stand out for him in his journey to where he is now. It started with Renato Rael and Mauricio Mazini. “They were the one’s that taught me tennis, my first tennis professors,” Korehisa said.

Others helped him go from the basics to what could bring him a step above the competition. Juninho Nascimento, who was ranked top 200 in the world, was a knowledgeable and fun coach, with great practices and stories that furthered Korehisa’s love of the sport.

Robson Pegoraro was another coach who helped him along the way. He was older and knew a lot about tennis, especially how to teach and improve one’s abilities.

For Korehisa’s physical conditioners, Vinicius Cavani and Heric Peregrina, also helped him. Cavani was a professional soccer goalkeeper, whereas Heric was a young man who
was eager to help him improve.

In 2013 Korehisa, broke his right wrist while he was running backwards, lost his balance, and while falling, he put his right arm down to support his body causing the injury.

An injury very early on in his life could’ve been a major setback but Korehisa didn’t let it derail his future. “Lorenzo is one of the hardest workers I have ever coached,” Schaffner said. Lorenzo plays both singles and doubles, yet he prefers singles one-on-one competition.

This is Lorenzo’s final year on campus as he will graduate in May of 2023. His ultimate goal is to work in a multinational company where he can transfer his job to other countries and live in a variety of different places. He is double majoring in transportation and logistics management, and international business.