Columbia University men’s tennis player Michael Zheng has been named the 2026 Hurd Award Champion by the Universal Tennis Foundation. The announcement was made Friday at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California.
The UTR Foundation Hurd Award, created by Mark Hurd in 2017, provides $100,000 grants to one male and one female American tennis player each year. The award is intended to help college players as they move into professional tennis.
Zheng has recently achieved significant milestones in his career. He won back-to-back NCAA Singles National Championships and made his debut in a major tournament earlier this year, reaching the second round of the Australian Open. He also improved his ATP ranking to 145, marking a personal best, and currently holds a UTR rating of 14.90, which is the highest among college men’s tennis players.
Howard Endelman, Bidyut K. Goswami Head Coach of Men’s Tennis at Columbia, commented on Zheng’s recognition: “We’re so proud of Michael. He exemplifies all the qualities that make college sports great. He’s just a special individual. He’s done it on the court and in the classroom here at Columbia, and we could not be more proud of him for this achievement.”
