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Freshman Haythem Abid left his native Tunisia at the age of 14 to attend a tennis academy in Spai

Some people were always meant to live their lives out of a suitcase, packing their bags for another continent at the age of 14.

Freshman tennis player Haythem Abid left his home of Tunis, Tunisia, at about that age when he traveled to Spain and joined the Bruguera Tennis Academy Top Team in Barcelona, Spain. The academy, co-owned by two-time French Open winner Sergi Bruguera, allows young players to follow their tennis dreams while pursuing their education.

“When I got there I quit school for a year and concentrated on tennis,” Abid said. “I had a good ranking, but I had doubts about the future and preferred to go back to school.”

And this idea stuck with him until this year, as he crossed over to the U.S. to play for the Bruins in January and played every No. 2 singles and doubles match of the season.

“I am very happy with the way he has adjusted to everything here. There was a lot of pressure on him,” UCLA tennis coach Billy Martin said.

The fall season is usually a good way for freshmen to adapt to new collegiate surroundings. Abid, on the other

hand, had about two weeks to do just that.

“I had to throw him to the wolves right away in dual matches,” Martin said.

In fact, when Abid won his match in the first meet of the season against San Diego, two weeks after joining the Bruins, it was the first competitive tennis match Abid had played in seven months.

“To maintain my eligibility I just practiced and watched the others compete for months,” Abid said. “It was very hard, but now that I have been here a few months I can say it was worth it.”

But no challenge for Abid was as tough as adjusting to hard court surfaces. The freshman had always played on clay until that time.

“I thought I would adapt straight away. I was wrong,” Abid said. “I am playing a lot better now, but there is so much room for improvement.”

But playing an individual sport as part of a team was one thing he knew. A member of the Tunisian Davis Cup Team since 2001, the freshman has played 25 Davis Cup matches and won most of them.

“It meant a lot to me that he had this experience,” Martin said. “I thought that if his country believed he had the maturity to represent them, he could definitely handle it here.”

With a 17-9 record for his first season, Abid’s powerful forehand and newfound love for his net game have made many of his opponents fall.

Abid competed in an ATP Challenger’s tournament in Tunisia at the beginning of the month, winning his first-round match against top-150-ranked Spanish player Alex Calatrava.

“I must have gotten better because I played great matches against strong players,” Abid said.

He might be new to the NCAA Championships, but Abid has watched the archives of his current teammates’ victory and is hungry for more.

“I want to celebrate the way they did even more,” Abid said.

The freshman has not forgotten about his dream of becoming a professional tennis player and knows four years with the Bruins will allow him to improve and possibly make that a reality. But until then, Abid seems to be happy with his first season at UCLA.

“This is a good school,” he said. “My parents are happy; the weather is sweet and the music on the west side is fantastic,” he said.