Freshman tennis star Guillaume Daurelle has come all the way from Avignon, France, and is spending a year in Santa Barbara to compete against some of the best athletes California has to offer.

“I chose SBCC because it’s one of the best city colleges in the U.S.,” he said. “The campus and view are amazing. Good sports infrastructures too.”

Daurelle said that his initial goal was to move to Santa Barbara for a year to master his English speaking skills, and now he is fully immersed in the Santa Barbara lifestyle.

“I’m only taking two classes this semester, English and math,” he said. “But I spend most of my time training on the courts and in the gym.”

Daurelle has been playing tennis since he was 6 years old, and the sport captivated him from the start.

“It was so long ago, but I still remember the first time I played with my father,” he said. “I had so much fun and enrolled for my first tennis lesson the next week.”

Tennis, like many other sports, is played very similarly across the world, which is part of the reason why Daurelle has been so successful in his new environment. According to Daurelle, the training he does here at City College is only slightly different from what has done in France.

“My training in France is more based on having a good technique while here, in the U.S., it’s more working on the combativeness,” says Daurelle. “In France we call that the American spirit, and developing a fight spirit is primordial to reach a good level.”

Daurelle said he plans on starting his own business one day, hopefully here in Santa Barbara. “It would be great if I had the opportunity to do it here,” he said. “I really like this city.”

As for his future in tennis, Daurelle wants it to be something he will always enjoy.

“Professional is a level really hard to reach. You have to live tennis, eat tennis, sleep tennis. Right now, my plans are to focus on my studies, but I’ll keep playing tennis anyway, including competition.”

Daurelle and the Vaqueros are done for the season after missing out on the playoffs. He hopes to continue his success next year for his sophomore campaign.