Men’s Tennis Signs Talented International Twosome

CHAPEL HILL, N.C.—Two top junior international prospects have signed National Letters of Intent and will join the University of North Carolina men's tennis program for next season, the Tar Heels announced on Thursday.

Both Patrick Schoen, a Swiss/German national, and Anthony Wright of Great Britain plan to enroll at UNC in January and begin competition for the Tar Heels in the spring of 2024.

"We're excited to add both Patrick and Anthony to the Carolina Tennis family," head coach says. "Both of them are talented players on the court and high-character guys off it. They both bring a tremendous amount of international experience and have very bright futures ahead of them. We expect they'll hit the ground running here and fit right into our program. We're looking forward to getting on the court and competing this season."

Schoen (Zollikon, Switzerland), reached a career-high ranking of No. 39 in the ITF Junior Rankings in August 2023. He is a seven-time singles & doubles Swiss national champion and has won seven junior ITF singles titles and eight junior ITF doubles titles. Those figures include two grade J300 titles, and he also reached the doubles quarterfinals in Roland Garros in 2023.

Schoen also won the European Junior Championship J300 Tournament in 2023 in Klosters in both singles and doubles, the first time a Swiss has ever won it since its inception. He has been a permanent member of the Swiss National Junior tennis team. He has posted a 98-62 record in junior play and competed in both singles and doubles at the Australian and French Open in 2023. His Universal Tennis Ranking is 13.00, and he will play in the Junior US Open main draw later this year.

"What attracted me most to Carolina was the commitment to accelerate my development as a tennis player and the quality of the coaching team," Schoen says. "I loved the spirit among all my future teammates, and the reputation of UNC is unmatched from an academic perspective."

Wright (London, England) has competed at the national level since age nine but burst onto the international scene more recently. Just over a year ago, he moved to Poland, his mother's home, to train and hone his craft. His game took off from there and his UTR has progressively improved over the last 12 months. Shortly after arriving in Poland, he won his first ITF title.

Over the last year, Wright has played on the UTR pro circuit, defeating a number of ranked opponents in places like Costa Rica, Wales and the Czech Republic on the international circuit. He qualified for a Futures main draw in just his second tournament in November 2022. His UTR has climbed steadily and reached a high of 12.70 earlier this month.

"My clear improvement over the last 12 months has given me the opportunity to go to UNC, a place which few have the privilege to attend, and I believe it's the place to be for me," Wright says.

About the Tar Heels
The Tar Heels finished 14th in the final 2023 ITA national rankings, their 10th consecutive top-15 finish. Carolina (19-9) tied for third in the Atlantic Coast Conference standings and reached at least the NCAA Championship Round of 16 for a ninth consecutive time in 2023. 

UNC hosted NCAA Championship matches in Chapel Hill for the ninth straight time in the NCAA Tournament, beating Drake and Utah at the Chewning Tennis Center before losing in the Sweet 16 at Texas.