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After a day of homeschooling and six hours of tennis training, 8-year-old Monika Wojcik and her older sister Natalia, 10, would frequently face off on the court. Wojcik and Natalia rode their bikes from their home in Delray Beach, Florida, to the nearby Delray Beach Tennis Center’s 8,200-seated court.

Despite both being tired, neither Wojcik nor Natalia wanted to lose. Wojcik would often win the contest, and if they played well, their father, Robert, would take them to get ice cream.

“It’s definitely a lot more competitive with me and Monika,” Natalia said. “But it makes it a lot more fun too because we both like pushing each other to our limits.”

Those matches were just a snippet of Wojcik’s childhood. When she was 4, Wojcik’s family moved from Litchfield Park, Arizona, to Delray Beach, where she began being homeschooled in second grade. She also spent summers in Nivelles, Belgium, and traveled across the world for tennis tournaments. This all culminated in a commitment to Syracuse, where she’s won 3-of-3 singles and 3-of-4 doubles matches this year as a freshman.

Joe Zhao | Photo Editor

From a young age, tennis dominated family discussions. Grandmothers, grandfathers, uncles, aunts, cousins — they all played. From the moment she could walk, Karla, Wojcik’s mother, and Robert put a racquet in Wojcik’s hands. It was her way of life.

The Wojciks moved to Delray Beach to further Wojcik’s older brother Jakub’s tennis career, who played at South Florida. The area featured many state-of-the-art tennis facilities, including the United States Tennis Association. The move also led the sisters to play three or four evenings a week.

However, it became increasingly difficult for Wojcik to keep up with her fellow players in the area because of her rigorous school schedule at St. Vincent Ferrer Catholic School.

“I would just hear all these things that (Natalia) would do in practice while I was at school and I was like, ‘Oh my goodness, I want to be homeschooled,’” Wojcik said.

In Florida, homeschooling is popular, especially in tennis. Most of the players Robert and Karla coached at Delray Beach Tennis Center were homeschooled.

For the Wojciks, a typical day of homeschool started with breakfast, followed by book classes organized by Karla and online math assignments.

Then, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., they hopped on the courts and then ate lunch. From 3-5 p.m., they practiced again and then completed fitness training with their parents.

“If you’re in a regular school, it’s not possible to travel to tournaments. If you are very serious about tennis, that’s a very high standard and very high demand in the lifestyle,” Robert said. “If you’re not ready to do this, it becomes excessively difficult to follow the players who are doing this.”

For six years in the summer, Wojcik began playing in Belgium, where the family had a summer house. She often played against 40 year olds in level-based tournaments at 12 years old.

Wojcik also started traveling more during the COVID-19 pandemic. Most of the European countries were closed, so she went to Central America, South America and Africa. Her day-to-day schedule was built around tournaments, often going to Poland or Bolivia to compete and see family.

When they were in Europe, Robert took his 2006 Silver Ford Mondeo with no air conditioning across the continent for the sisters’ tournaments. Those days were long, according to Natalia, as the combined trips eclipsed 300,000 kilometers.

“That’s kind of an irreplaceable experience that those kids bring to college. (They’ve) already been through quite a lot of things,” Robert said.

When she had to travel from Turkey to Egypt, Wojcik, who was then 14 years old, offered to travel by herself. Karla refused. She didn’t want Wojcik going alone.

Monika Wojcik (right) poses with her siblings Jakub (left) and Natalia (middle). Photo courtesy of Robert Wojcik

Wojcik questioned the decision. She already knew the IGA Istanbul Airport well, according to Karla.

“You’re booking tickets by yourself. You’re booking hotels by yourself. You’re arranging your own practices. It’s a different experience. You learn to grow up really quickly,” Wojcik said.

Wojcik played 65 matches per summer when she started making trips to Europe at age 14. After a few weeks off, Wojcik and Natalia started preseason training, lasting from the end of August to as long as the beginning of October.

October 2023 was the first time Wojcik met Syracuse head coach Younes Limam during a tennis tournament in Tunisia.

Wojcik never saw herself at SU originally. Instead, she aimed to play tennis professionally. She also believed if she played collegiate tennis, it’d be in the southern U.S. Still, Limam remained in contact with Wojcik and her family. He was persistent even when she explored other schools.

“If it was not for his vision, because he must have felt there was a good fit in the package, the chance was very slim,” Robert said.
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Wojcik crossed paths with Limam again in Tunisia in February 2024, and that meeting set things in motion. Seeing players like Emma Navarro and Danielle Collins turn pro after college shifted her focus toward playing at the collegiate level.

“You get matches, you get practice, you get education, you get a degree and you can still play,” Wojcik said. “Especially now that you’re able to make money in school, I think it gives you a good head start for a pro career, so that came back on the table when I looked into it more.”

When she visited Syracuse on Oct. 29, 2024, Wojcik’s family connected with assistant coach Jacqueline Calla, who also trained under Steve Smith, a lifelong mentor and “second grandpa” to Wojcik, and shared similar stories about him.

“Regardless of what she was going through with her thoughts and with the recruiting process, Younes was always there at the right moment,” Robert said. “Once she dove deeper and she learned more, it became apparent.”

Wojcik chose to come to Syracuse late, missing out on the fall season. But she’s already made an impact with her 85.7% win clip this year.

Wojcik continues to send clips of her matches to Robert, who gives her feedback. She’s happy to take it, as if she was back in Delray Beach yearning for a scoop of ice cream.

“Between my brother, my mom, my dad and my sister, it was like a team. We were all in the same boat. We were all just playing tennis, having fun,” Wojcik said.

Published on February 3, 2025 at 11:20 pm

Contact Quinn: qdpostma@syr.edu