Catalina Foothills star Austin Cohen serves his way into Tucson tennis history

Austin Cohen knew tennis was his calling at an early age.

The Catalina Foothills High School standout and two-time state champion “dabbled in basketball and baseball, but went full-tennis at 10 years old,” he said.

Cohen’s commitment to tennis has taken him to 30 different states for tournaments and made him the leader of a Catalina Foothills boys tennis team that just won its 18th state championship in program history on Saturday.

The Falcons beat Scottsdale Notre Dame Prep at Paseo Racquet Center in Glendale about a week after Cohen won his second straight Division II individual championship.

“It was really special to get that state title in singles, especially after winning it last year,” Cohen told the Star leading up to the team state championships in Glendale. “It’s really special and awesome to do that. I doubted playing high school tennis at the beginning, so winning a state title was something that was rewarding and it was gratifying and it made me not regret playing high school tennis.”

Cohen first started playing the sport when he was 5 years old and was inspired by his father, Gary Cohen, who played tennis at Northwestern.

“I fell in love with it from the beginning,” the younger Cohen said. “I just loved going out with my dad and playing and just hitting the ball. I would hit off the garage in my house. That was how I started.”

As a coach and personal tennis instructor, Papa Cohen “taught with a lot of compassion and a lot of patience, especially as a young kid.”

“It’s hard to get better at tennis, especially the hand-eye coordination, it’s very difficult,” Austin Cohen said. “Overall, the lessons he taught me over 12 or 13 years was to never give up and fight for everything. That goes a long way, especially in life. Never quit, even when things aren’t going good; keep persevering and have a lot of resilience.”

When Cohen was 7 years old, he played his first competitive tournament at the Tucson Racquet and Fitness Club. It was a “red ball tournament,” which has shortened courts and red foam balls that are easier to hit. Cohen called that afternoon at Tucson Racquet and Fitness Club his “origin story and how I fell in love with it.”

“I was actually down in my first-ever match and came back and won,” he said. “That’s been something that’s been a big part of my identity, because I was able to come back. It doesn’t matter if you’re up or if you’re down, just keep going. Even if you’re down, there’s always a way to win.”

Since his first-ever victory as a tennis player, Cohen played in nearly 800 singles and doubles matches before he started his career at Catalina Foothills; he has nearly 450 wins. Cohen was anxious to play at Catalina Foothills, because it’s “very different and it’s a big time commitment,” he said.

Cohen nearly leaned into competing at just individual events during his high school career, but “being able to play on a team and play for something that’s bigger than yourself was something I couldn’t pass up,” he said.

In Cohen’s freshman season at Catalina Foothills in 2022, he won a Division II doubles state championship with his older brother, Grant Cohen, who’s now playing tennis at Richmond. Austin Cohen carved out a 30-0 record as an individual player. Cohen has a 41-1 overall record, according to AZPreps365.com.

“He’s a fantastic player,” said Catalina Foothills boys tennis coach Ben Loeb. “He’s probably the smartest player I’ve ever coached and he’s also the most talented player I’ve ever coached. It’s a misnomer that I’ve coached him, because during the matches, I just let him do his thing.

“The only time we have conversations is about the mental side of tennis, which he understands. He deserves the credit. He’s the smartest player I’ve ever coached. Austin is a great team leader and he has positive energy and is good at getting guys invested. It’s great to have a guy at the top lead the team in the right direction, and he’s had an integral part in that.”

Loeb, who is in his first season at the helm, succeeded the retired Jeffry Bloomberg, who won seven state championships and went 131-3 at CFHS. Loeb spent the winter and spring months coaching Catalina Foothills after coaching Rock Ridge High School in Columbia, Missouri from July-October. Catalina Foothills’ Division II state championship on Saturday marked the 20th state title for Loeb between his time in Missouri and now Arizona.

Loeb has instilled his “CLAD” mantra — an acronym for compassion, love, acceptance and discovery — with the team.

“Those are the things I’ve gone over with the team and I hope it has helped them have a game plan on the court for mental and emotional development,” Loeb said.

The individual state championship this year was a win-win for Catalina Foothills, with Cohen battling his teammate Junchen Jia. In the Division II doubles championship, Santiago Astengo and Parker Servoss faced Catalina Foothills teammates Ahmed Bozdogan and Aaron Zeldon, with the Astengo-Servoss tandem winning the state championship.

Despite missing his sophomore season due to taking online classes to focus on his tennis career, Cohen won a state championship in every season he played and etched his name as one of the top tennis players in Southern Arizona history. Tennis Recruiting Network rated Cohen as the top player in Arizona and the 65th-best player nationally for the 2025 recruiting class. Cohen and Rincon/University’s Vikram Nerendran, who won the Division I singles state championship, won state titles in back-to-back seasons.

“It’s awesome,” Cohen said of his postseason success. “Everyone that was been successful in tennis has won a state championship, especially in Arizona. To be able to be on that list of people is really awesome. The environment is different from a junior tennis tournament, like in California or even in Tucson. It’s very quiet and chill, but at the Arizona state championships, it’s rowdy and there’s a lot of people. That’s the biggest tournament that I’ve ever played in.”

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Added Cohen: “It’s definitely something that’s super special. I don’t regret anything and I’m super happy about playing high school tennis and meeting so many people and making lifelong connections. It was a net positive for my life.”

Cohen “loves the competitive arena and knows how to prepare for competition,” Loeb said.

“He applies pressure on his opponent, but he also knows what he can do with the ball,” said the Catalina Foothills head coach. “He’s what I call smart-aggressive, where he can be aggressive, but he’s also very consistent and uses big targets. He also forces his opponents into errors rather than just trying to hit winners.

“He doesn’t get tentative. A lot of people, when they get nervous, they get tentative. He doesn’t do that. That’s part of the confidence he has in himself, which is quite deserving. He hits the ball with conviction and he knows where to hit it.”

Away from the court, Cohen enjoys playing Fortnite and Overwatch video games and table tennis. Cohen briefly played pickleball, a fast-rising sport nationally, but his pickleball career was short-lived after the timing of the swing affected his tennis swing.

In the fall, Cohen will begin his tennis career at William & Mary, a Division I school in Williamsburg, Virginia, where he’ll be less than an hour away from Grant Cohen.

“College tennis was always the goal, but the goal was to get into a school that I otherwise wouldn’t get into without tennis,” Austin Cohen said. “I have good grades, but I don’t think I would’ve gone out of state to Virginia without tennis. William & Mary’s coach reached out to me and looking at the school, it had everything I wanted. It’s a good team, great facilities and great academics.”

Cohen is set to graduate from Catalina Foothills this month with a 4.0 weighted GPA. Cohen is pursuing a finance major with an emphasis on investment banking.

“From a young age, I’ve always watched ‘Squawk Box’ on CNBC and the green and red lines stood out to me as a kid. Doing more research in investment banking, it’s something I would be good at,” Cohen said.

Cohen is “going to be very successful at William & Mary,” Loeb said.

“He’s such a great tennis player, but his emotional and mental makeup will serve him not only in his tennis career but also in life,” said the CFHS tennis coach.

“He’s got a bright future ahead of himself on and off the court.”

Fast Five with Austin

Who is your tennis idol?

A: “Pablo Carreño Busta. I’ve always revolved my game around him. I’ve always watched him and studied his game. It was random, but I just started following him.”

What is your dream tennis event to play in?

A: “Wimbledon. It’s just so iconic.”

What is the worst surface to play tennis on?

A: “Carpet.”

What is your go-to post-match or pre-match meal?

A: “Chipotle. Prematch? Açai bowl. At Chipotle, I get a bowl with steak and white rice, cheese, (guacamole), lettuce and sour cream. It hits every time.”

What is your favorite shoe to play tennis in?

A: “The cheapest ones. I’d say Adidas Barricades.”