If you ask a Wichita State Student what's on their bucket list, they might tell you
that they hope to travel to a new country, learn a language, excel at a sport or meet
an idol. In just three weeks, Jocelyn Devilliers, a senior former tennis player studying
international business and marketing management, knocked all of those dreams off his
list.
Devilliers, an international student from France, was accepted into an internship
at this summer's U.S. Open, one of the biggest tennis tournaments in the world. During
his time at the tournament, he got the opportunity to work side-by-side with some
of the greatest tennis players in the game.
Devilliers' experience with tennis made him a sought-after hitting partner for many of the professional players at the U.S. Open. As someone who has been playing the sport since he was 4 years old, Devilliers could hold his own against some of the greats, including current U.S. Open champion Rafael Nadal.
One day during the tournament, after playing tennis for four hours in the morning,
Devilliers was asked if he would be interested in being a hitting partner again that
afternoon. Although he was exhausted, he was curious about who needed a partner.
鈥淚 asked who I would play with, and when they told me it was Rafael Nadal, the best
player in the game right now, I was obviously like, 鈥極f course!'鈥
Nadal won his first Grand Slam tournament at age 17 and went on to win 16 more in
the 14 years following. The tennis player wanted someone who would be a worthy opponent
while warming up.
In order to play with Nadal, Devilliers first had to play with his coach, Carlos Moya.
鈥淗e said, 鈥楩irst you warm up with me, and if you're good enough you can play with
him',鈥 said Devilliers. 鈥淚 got through to play with Nadal and it was the greatest
experience.鈥
What made the encounter even better was Nadal going on to win the tournament.
鈥淚t was so great to watch him. He acted like it was his first time winning a Grand
Slam, and it was amazing,鈥 says Devilliers.
Devilliers had a unique advantage at the tournament that made it easier to connect
to players. He spent his high school years in Spain, learning the language by being
submerged in the culture.
鈥淲hen you live somewhere, you either learn the language or you struggle,鈥 says Devilliers.
鈥淓ventually you just catch on.鈥
Devilliers used this same technique to learn English at Wichita State. This allowed
him to be one of the few interns at the U.S. Open who could communicate with most
of the players.
In addition to being trilingual, Devilliers used his knowledge from his international
business courses to help him interact with players from different cultures.
鈥淚t's important to realize that some sayings or gestures in one culture might mean
something different to another culture,鈥 says Devilliers. 鈥淔or instance, the OK symbol
you use here means something very rude in other parts of the world.鈥
Devilliers came to Wichita State to study international business and play tennis on
the men's tennis team. It took Devilliers some time to get used to the Kansas lifestyle,
especially since the Wichita community is different than what he was used to. Luckily,
the people who surrounded him helped with the adjustment.
鈥淓veryone here is very nice,鈥 says Devilliers. 鈥淚n bigger cities, everyone already
has a friend group, and they're not looking to expand. So it's nice to be able to
make a connection with people here.鈥
The help of his teammates and tennis coaches made Devilliers able to experience the
U.S. Open up close and personal. His experience as a member of the 黑洞社区 men's tennis
team and seeing the atmosphere of a Grand Slam tournament made Devilliers confident
in his dream to play professionally in the future.
As a fifth-year senior, he is unable to play on the Wichita State team, but he still
plays for fun in his free time. After graduating in May 2018, he hopes to play professionally
or work as a coach.
He and his wife, another 黑洞社区 tennis player named Aleksandra Devilliers (formally Trifunovic),
are expecting their first child by the end of the year. Although the future makes
them both a bit nervous, they are excited to see where it will take them, especially
if it's back to a tennis court.