Q&A with Luis Humberto Lopez
10/14/2024
Luis Humberto Lopez is in his third season on the UC Irvine men’s tennis staff, and first as associate head coach. In his two seasons as an assistant, the Anteaters won the 2024 Big West Championship and claimed a share of the 2023 Big West regular season title. The ‘Eaters are 30-15 (10-2 Big West) in dual matches since he joined his alma mater as a coach.
Luis graduated from UC Irvine in 2016. He was a six-time All-Big West selection, receiving the distinction in both singles and doubles in each of his three seasons on the men’s tennis team. Following graduation, he played professionally, earning career high ATP rankings of 1261 in singles and 1611 in doubles.
In celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, we sat down with Luis for a Q&A about his tennis journey.
What does Hispanic Heritage Month mean to you?
I believe my Hispanic culture to be a rich and beautiful background and I am honored to be a part of it. I appreciate Hispanic Heritage Month as a means of respecting this culture that I am so proud to have my roots from.
Where did you grow up?
I grew up in San Diego, California - in Chula Vista to be exact. I was raised learning about my culture on a day-to-day basis. My parents worked very hard to make sure I grew up fluent in both English and Spanish.
What are some of your favorite family memories from your childhood?
My favorite memories growing up were spending Christmas at my grandparents' house and getting to spend time with family. Also, I am fond of my memories of after school lunch with my grandmother. My mom would drive us from San Diego to Tijuana (around 45 minutes) to spend time with our grandmother. I had a great time spending my afternoons at her house with my cousins and her two German shepherds.
How did you get started playing tennis?
I got started playing tennis thanks to my dad. He loved to play tennis and didn't let me win until I was around 16. That only fueled the fire for me to try to improve and become a better tennis player. I was lucky to have a dad who was knowledgeable, and pushed us all to become the best versions of ourselves.
Is there anyone who inspired you to pursue the sport?
I was inspired to pursue the sport by my parents, both of them played a lot when I was younger. I liked that there was a lot of inputs and outputs when it came to this complex sport. I also really enjoyed outsmarting opponents and performing better under pressure. Seeing my parents enjoy tennis in their lives really inspired me to continue with it and pursue my dreams.
What drew you to UC Irvine as a student-athlete?
It was an interesting moment when I came to UC Irvine. I grew up during my teen years driving from San Diego to Los Angeles to play tournaments, and just about every time on the way up to L.A. my dad would call out the names of the universities we would pass. I heard my dad simply call out UC Irvine about 30 times as a teenager. Little did I know, I would graduate from this University less than a decade later. I knew about the great academics here and the strong tennis program by following the rankings and team rosters. The dream of coming to UC Irvine and playing on the team seemed too difficult by my senior year of high school, but a couple years later, I was on the roster for the men's tennis program.
What was your path after graduating and how did you make your way back to UCI as a coach?
My path after college was full of traveling and pro tournaments called Futures. The week following my graduation, I flew from LAX to Dusseldorf, Germany, to go stay with Nico Mertens, who also played tennis here at UCI. I trained on clay for a month and played local tournaments as well as club tennis. It was really fun to be part of the team environment and around a great group of players. I learned a lot in those weeks, and used those lessons to continue growing as a player. I then traveled around Europe, mainly Austria, Germany, France, and Belgium. I also traveled to Egypt to play more Futures and pick up more points there. After that, I came back home, took some time off and started my preseason. Around the start of the following year, the COVID pandemic hit and I couldn't travel or play tournaments anymore. After months of that, I decided to pursue my master’s degree while still playing tennis at a high level. I spoke to some coaches in the UK and decided to go to the University of Nottingham to pursue a master’s in Logistics and Supply Chain. I stayed in touch with Mike (Saunders) throughout most of this and towards the end of my master’s program, I found out the assistant coaching spot was open at UCI. I decided to take the position, come back to the States and finish my dissertation in the meantime.
How special was last year’s Big West Championship as a member of the coaching staff and also as an alum?
Last year’s Big West title, and in general my time here coaching, has been very rewarding. It is always nice to win and see the guys’ hard work pay off. But what has been the most rewarding is seeing all of the great players come in and show respect for the culture that has been built. As an alum, it makes me happy to see them all enjoy their time here, work hard, improve, and grow as human beings. It is the greatest sign of respect they can show, and I feel lucky to have the group of guys that are on the team. The Big West title last year meant a lot because we had several seniors leaving that had given an unbelievable amount of effort and dedication to the program. It was amazing to see them enjoy the cherry on top of an already great collegiate career.
