Growing up in Toronto, Erik and Kevin Kovacs knew they wanted to play collegiate tennis together.
The brothers got into sports at a very young age, starting with tennis when they were six years old, while playing soccer and basketball around that same time. They played both sports for a while before their parents told them they had to choose one. The brothers were very good at soccer, with Erik on the defense and Kevin on offense, and they played on one of the best soccer teams in their league.
The brothers ended up picking tennis, even though their dad played semi-pro soccer in Hungary.
They took tennis seriously at around 12 years old and got into the Top 25 in Ontario at 14 years old. When they reached 16, they won the doubles nationals and started playing national tournaments.
The two brothers talked about what tennis players inspired them growing up.
“Growing up, it was Rafael Nadal,” Erik said. “I’m a lefty, and I just always liked the way he played. He was always a grind in getting every ball back. He was one I always looked up to. I love his game style.”
“For me, I like Roger Federer the most,” Kevin said. “The way he blasts the balls to the corner. He’s so smooth around the court, moving around, and his technique is so perfect.”
Erik also mentioned how, since he played doubles tennis with his brother, a big inspiration to them were professional tennis players, Mike and Bob Bryan. They were a big inspiration to him and Kevin, and they had the opportunity to hit with the Brian Brothers when the Kovacs were eight years old.
They were in Montreal for the Rogers Cup, and as they were walking around, they found where the Brian brothers were practicing, and their mom went up to them and asked if her sons could play with them. After giving Kevin and Erik racquets, the two sets of brothers played some points.
The brothers didn’t play a lot of tennis at the high school they attended, as high school sports weren’t very competitive where they lived, so they decided to focus on international tournaments. They went to countries like Turkey and Uruguay to continue to get their international rankings up.
Erik talked about what it was like to play in all the different countries he’s been to.
“It was definitely a really fun experience,” Erik said. “It’s different. Obviously, the pressure and the stress are higher because you want to perform so well and you’re spending all that money. I also think it was worth it because that’s how we were able to grow our rankings internationally and get known when we started applying for colleges.”
Kevin and Erik knew they wanted to play together in college, so finding a spot where they both got offers from was important.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Erik was talking to Texas Tech, and Kevin was talking to Cornell. They had a verbal commitment to Bucknell University, but the pandemic happened, and Bucknell’s coach reached out and told them that their scholarships were being cut by 50%.
Once that happened, they took a gap year and continued reaching out to colleges when head coach Mark Doren reached out and wanted both of them.
During their freshman year and last year, the two played doubles together, which is something they knew they wanted to do when they went to the same college.
The brothers love being student-athletes here at Ferris because of how the students look up to the athletes. They also love the facilities and the indoor tennis facility.
“They’re pretty much unmatched at the Division II level,” Erik said. “Having our own indoor tennis facility, which Grand Valley doesn’t have, is a huge plus.”
On the court, they play quite a bit, and Kevin won the majority of times while growing up, but they are now very back and forth in their matches.
Off the court, Erik is studying criminal justice, and he wants to work in federal policing in Canada for the RCMP, which is Canada’s version of the FBI. Kevin is studying business administration with a minor in marketing, and he wants to take over their dad’s construction business when he retires.