LORETTO, Pa. - For nearly all, the journey of achieving professional status as a tennis player is a steep, uphill battle. While stars like Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal bask in fame and glory, thousands of the most talented players in the world slug it out in lower ranks with aspirations of reaching tennis's grandest stages.
 
Former Saint Francis tennis standout Washi Gervais (Longueuil, Quebec/College Stanislas) is currently among the thousands chasing his dream of playing professional tennis. Gervais was a top talent as a U-18 junior player in his native Quebec, ranking as high as seventh in Quebec and 18th in Canada. He'd take his talents to Loretto where he was molded under the tutelage of current head coach Rob Castille.

Gervais steadily improved his game in each of his four seasons at Saint Francis, putting it all together as a senior to earn NEC Player of the Year honors. Gervais ended his SFU career with 57 singles wins and 47 doubles wins.  As impressive as his climb to the top of the NEC was, he now once again finds himself at the bottom of the totem pole.
 
The Quebec native currently competes on the ITF (International Tennis Federation) Futures Tour, the lowest ranked circuit in the ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals).  The ATP is divided into five categories: Futures, Challenger, 250 Series, 500 Series, 1000 Series and Grand Slam.
 
Gervais' sights are now set on accumulating enough points to earn status on the Challenger Tour. To do so, he needs to win matches, a difficult thing to do with so many aspiring tennis professionals chasing the same goal as him.
 
To compete in a Futures event's main draw, you must first survive its grueling qualifying stages. Typical qualifying events consist of 64-player fields with only eight advancing to tournament play.
 
Gervais has succeeded in advancing out of qualifying and into the main draw five times.  His first professional singles match occurred last July in the Canada F5 Futures in Saskatoon, Canada. He won his first professional set in his next match in September in the Canada F7Future in Toronto.
 
He would compete in two more events in South Africa before his breakthrough came last December in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. After winning all three qualifying matches to earn a spot in the Dominican Republic F2 Futures Main Draw, Gervais defeated Mauricio Luis Bonilla in the Round of 32 to earn his first career ATP Point. He is the first Saint Francis player in school history to do so.
 
The win and ATP point allowed Gervais to receive a World Ranking. There are 2,103 players in the world with a ranking; Gervais is currently ranked 1,996.
 
As Gervais' comfort grows, so does his play. He is no longer awestruck playing against the top competition in the world. He has laced them up against current world-No. 225 Jordi Samper Montana and Filip Peliwo, who has been ranked as high as No. 223 in the world, hanging tough in both matches.  Samper Montana qualified for the French Open last year and Peliwo was the top-ranked world junior after winning the Wimbledon Junior and U.S. Open Junior.
 
Gervais knows he has a long way to go to reach the Challenger Tour, typically players on the Tour are ranked in the top 500 in the world, but is enjoying every minute of the chase.
 
"It has always been a dream of mine to play professional tennis and I am loving every minute of it," said Gervais. "To be able to travel the world and play against the best tennis players across the globe, I can't imagine myself doing anything else.
 
Castille has watched Gervais transform from an 18-year old freshman into a top 2,000 ranked player in the world through his hard work and countless sacrifices. He has no doubts that Gervais will continue to improve and make a name for himself on the ATP circuit.
 
"Washi is a great kid who has earned everything that has come to him," said Castille. "He is one of the most focused, hardworking kids I have ever coached. It is a great example for the kids in our program and our recruits that you can play tennis for Saint Francis and make it as a professional if you have the right attitude and drive."
 
Gervais returned the favor with compliments for his coach and the Saint Francis tennis program.
 
"I would not be where I am today if I didn't come to Saint Francis," said Gervais. "Coming to college helped me mature and learn how to fight for every point, something that coach Castille always preaches. On the Tour, every point of every match is precious and can be the difference between earning ATP Points and money, or going home."
 
"I am thankful to Saint Francis, the support of its coaches and administrators, and everyone along the way who has helped me fulfill my dreams."