Recruiting Profile
Everything Breaks the Right Way for Five-Star Robinson
by Rhiannon Potkey, 21 October 2024
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Breaking an ankle may have been what saved Mia Robinson’s tennis career.
Robinson (WTN: 19.3) wasn’t enjoying the sport as much as she was in the past. She felt like she was in a funk and considered quitting. Her injury in 2021 changed everything.
Five-Star Mia Robinson Has Committed to Mississippi State
© Contributed Photo
“I think everyone goes through a period where they're like, ‘What am I doing with my life? Why am I playing tennis?’ It's such a hard sport,” Robinson said. “And then you just have that one thing that snaps in your mind and you're like, ‘oh, I can do this. This isn't too bad.’ I think that my broken ankle was like a wake-up call. I guess my body and my mind needed a little break, and then I came back hungry and ready to go.”
Robinson missed three months recovering from the broken ankle. The five-star senior has revived her game and her outlook over the last three years. The Mississippi State coaching staff took notice last year during an event in Rome, Georgia..
MSU assistant coach Noah Tippen saw Robinson and wandered over to her court.
“I don't even think he was there to watch me, but he happened to see me play,” said Robinson, who was born in Virginia and lives in South Carolina. “Then, after the match, he introduced himself to my mom and I and he stayed in contact with my dad.”
After taking an official visit to Starkville a few months later, Robinson committed to the Bulldogs.
“I love the way they coach. I love the way they think on court. The campus is beautiful. It checked every box, in my opinion,” she said. “I couldn't find anything bad, and I was even trying to. I thought there was no way this could be perfect, but it honestly was. I just knew when I was on campus, I could feel God around me. Ever since then, I just knew it would be the right fit.”
Robinson comes from a tennis family. Her dad played at Clemson, her mom played at Coastal Carolina and her brother plays at Liberty. Robinson began hitting balls at age 3 at the country club where her parents worked.
“I did play soccer for a while, and then I went to watch my brother play in Zonals and I said, ‘I want to be like my brother.’ So I quit soccer, and I decided to do tennis full time,” Robinson said. “I haven't really looked back since. I just love it.”
Robinson has a strong relationship with her brother, Chase, a redshirt sophomore at Liberty.
“We both really support each other. He'll call me after a match I lose and help me talk through it,” she said. “We'll text each other good luck before every match. We'll ask how each other did? We stay in touch a lot and I love being able to learn from him. I look up to him a lot. He's the reason I chose tennis over soccer.”
Robinson’s own college dreams began to take shape once she saw Chase go through the recruiting process.
Robinson is No. 1 in S.C. on the Babolat Recruiting List
© Bill Kallenberg
“It became more of a reality to my eyes and I thought, ‘I can do this too. This would be so cool,’” she said. “I really love college tennis. I love the team aspect of it and competing, not just for yourself, but for other people.”
Robinson couldn’t wait until her junior year when college coaches could start contacting her to share more about their programs.
“I actually had a countdown on my phone for a year counting down to June 15,” she said. “I was really excited for it. The process was a little more stressful than I thought it would be, but overall, it was really fun to talk to new coaches and form relationships and learn new things.”
In her free time away from tennis, Robinson enjoys going fishing or boating on the lake where she lives. Her family has three dogs, 13 chickens and two ducks.
“I think we want a farm. Right now we live on an acre. Our dream would be 30 acres,” she said. “Chickens were the only things that could fit on our acre, and we use them for eggs, and it honestly tastes delicious.”
Since she committed, MSU head coach Chris Hooshyar has been in contact with Robinson’s dad about what she should be working on before she arrives on campus next year. Robinson trains with her father at his academy-Robinson Tennis Academy-in Greenville, South Carolina.
“I think I've texted the coaches like five times, and I just keep saying, ‘ I'm so excited. I'm so excited,’” she said. “I can’t wait to see what I can do and see where we can go together. I think I’ll be pushed on the court and off the court, and I love being pushed to my limit.”
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About Rhiannon Potkey
Rhiannon Potkey is a veteran sportswriter with more than two
decades of experience in journalism. Potkey has covered many
sports at many levels and has a passion for finding great stories.
Potkey has covered the U.S. Open, junior sectional and national
events, college conference championships and Davis Cup matches.
Potkey is currently Content Strategist for Tennis Recruiting. You
can reach Rhiannon by email at
[email protected].
