Grant Chen became SMU's head men's tennis coach prior to the 2018-19 season. He has won two conference championships and made three NCAA tournament appearances including a second round appearance in 2026.
Chen is a two-time coach of the year and have guided the Mustangs to earn two all-america honors and 14 all-conference honors. Under Chen, SMU had an NCAA Championship runner-up in Trevor Svajda who also became the first All-American Mustang since 2004 and was ranked as the No. 1 singles player in the four times in the 2025-26 season.
Chen led the Mustangs to their fourth NCAA tournament appearance in five years in 20216, winning its first NCAA Championship match since 2016. The team also won its first ITA National Team Indoor Championship match since 2000 and defeated Baylor for the first time since 2001, first win in Waco against Baylor since 1996. The Mustangs had two top-25 wins in No. 8 Baylor and No. 23 Arizona State. SMU finished the season ranked No. 29, for its highest team ranking since 2022. Trevor Svajda was named UTR Hurd Award Finalist, two-time All-American and First Team All-ACC. Five players saw action an
In the 2024-25 season, Chen led the Mustangs in their first season as members of the Atlantic Coast Conference. SMU had a 15-19 overall record and made the ACC Championship second round as the No. 13 seed of the tournament. The Mustangs were ranked as high as No. 56 by the ITA. Three Mustangs were ranked in the in the singles ranking with Trevor Svajda ranked as high No. 45. In doubles, two pairs were ranked by the ITA; Svajda and Louis Cloud has a high ranking of No. 45. Chen guided Trevor Svajda to an All-ACC selection. During this season, SMU saw three players invited to the ATP Dallas Open at the Star in Frisco. Chen was also an integral piece in bringing the 2025 and 2026 ITA National Team Indoor Championships to Texas, co-hosted by SMU and Baylor. Â
In 2023-24, Chen helped lead the Mustangs to a 17-11 overall record, including three wins over ranked opponents and a 13-2 home mark. SMU earned the No. 2 seed in the American Athletic Conference Tournament, and recorded its third consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament and first at-large bid under Chen. The Mustangs ranked as high as No. 40 by the ITA, with a total of six players ranked in singles play and two duos ranked in doubles. Chen guided Trevor Svajda, Adam Neff, and Huntley Allen to AAC All-Conference selections, as well as Svajda earning the league's Freshman of the Year. Svajda, Neff and Allen all competed in the 2024 NCAA Individual Championships, marking the first time since 2001 that SMU was represented in both the singles and doubles brackets. Chen continued as a pillar of the ATP's Dallas Open production, which served its third straight rendition at SMU's Styslinger/Altec Tennis Complex. Chen was also an integral piece in bringing the 2025 and 2026 ITA National Team Indoor Championships to Texas, co-hosted by SMU and Baylor. Â
In 2022-23, Chen led the Mustangs win their second straight AAC championship, defeating Tulane 4-3 in the finals. SMU competed in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, falling to Texas A&M 4-1 at the Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center in Fort Worth, Texas. The Mustangs earned a 12-3 home record including three ranked wins. The Mustangs recorded seven total sweeps and won nine ranked wins. The Mustangs ranked as high as No. 46 in the ITA. Chen was named the AAC Coach of the Year for the second year in a row. The season included the AAC Player of the Year and three AAC All-Conference Selections as well as a NCAA selection to the Individual Championship, the first time since 2006. Chen remained heavily involved in the planning and production of the ATP's Dallas Open.
In 2021-22, Chen helped the Mustangs win their first AAC championship, defeating Memphis 4-2 in the final. SMU competed in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, falling to LSU 3-4 at the University of Texas. The Mustangs went undefeated at 7-0 in both road and conference play. They recorded eight total sweeps and won 10 ranked matches, the most in a single season for the program since 2000-01. They reached a top ITA ranking of No. 20, their highest since 2002. Chen was named AAC Coach of the Year, marking SMU's third coach to win a conference coach of the year award. The season included three AAC All-Conference selections. The Mustangs head coach was also heavily involved in the planning and production of the ATP's inaugural Dallas Open which took place in February.
In 2020-21 Chen led the Mustangs to the conference semifinal. Chen's squad finished 18-14. Liam Krall was named American Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year. As a team, the Mustangs recorded the most wins since 2016 and climbed to their best end of regular season ranking in five seasons. The Mustangs were ranked as high as No. 40 on the season. The team won four matches against ranked teams with victories over Oklahoma, San Diego, Tulsa and Tulane.Â
Inheriting a young roster in his first season, Chen guided the Mustangs to an improvement in the win column tallying 12 wins. The highlight win of the season came in the first round of the American Conference Championships when they took down ECU in a sweep ... Chen brought in a heralded recruiting class in the limited time on the Hilltop including two additions that were competing for the Mustangs in January ... His 2019 class was ranked No. 22 in the nation and the second-highest outside of the power five. During the campaign, junior transfer Carles Sarrio was named All-Conference and finished the season ranked in the ITA.
Chen arrived on the Hilltop from UCLA, where he served Bruin Head Coach Billy Martin for over 15 years in a multitude of roles, ranging from team manager to associate head coach.Â
For the final three seasons at UCLA, Chen has served as Associate Head Coach, and, prior to that, he served as Assistant Coach for three years. During Chen's six seasons on Martin's coaching staff, the Bruins registered a 149-28 record (.842) and reached the quarterfinal round of the NCAA Championships five times. This past season, UCLA posted its third semifinal-round appearance of the stretch and totaled 30 wins for the first time in Martin's tenure. The Bruins also collected four Pac-12 regular-season titles and three tournament trophies during Chen's time on staff.
Chen got his start with the Bruins as a student manager in 2001, as he played a pivotal role in the organization and growth of Martin's annual on-campus summer camp while fulfilling necessary off-court duties. The Bruins captured the NCAA title in 2005, Chen's penultimate year in the role. Chen's jack-of-all-trades skillset resulted in his hiring as Director of Operations upon his graduation from UCLA in 2006. He handled logistics, travel, equipment and management of all home events, including ITA Kick-Off Weekend, NCAA Regionals and the Southern California Intercollegiate Championships.
A fixture in the tennis community both at home and abroad, Chen currently serves on the board of directors for ITA and USTA Southern California. A busy summer 2017 saw Chen guide Team Southern California to the title at the USTA Boys National Team Championships in Champaign, Ill., before leading Team USA and the mixed doubles duo of Bruins Jada Hart and Logan Staggs to a bronze medal at the 29th Summer Universiade in Taipei. Chen briefly ventured into a role with Pure Sports Management in 2007, but maintained his ties to UCLA as head coach of its club tennis team.
NCAA Division I Coaching Experience:
SMU: Head Coach
Year           Record      Final ITA Ranking       Conference Tournament       NCAA Tournament
2025-2026             20-12                      29                              Second Round                    Second Round
2024-2025       15-19            60                Second Round                -
2023-2024             17-11                      43                              Quarterfinals                         First Round
2022-2023             18-14                       46                                 Champions                          First Round
2021-2022       22-7                      28                               Champions                         First Round
2020-2021       18-14                       45                  Semifinals                   -
2019-2020       11-5                          -               DNP due to Covid              NA
2018-2019       12-17             -                 Quarterfinals                 -
UCLA: Assistant Coach/Associate Head Coach
Year               Record              Final ITA Ranking       Conference Tournament       NCAA Tournament
2017-2018       30-3                              3                  Champions                          Semifinals
2016-2017       22-6                              5                   Finalists              Quarterfinals
2015-2016       24-2                4                  Champions                         Quarterfinals
2014-2015       17-10                           15                   Semifinals              Round of 16
2013-2014:       26-4               3                                   Champions              Semifinals
2012-2013:       29-2               2                              Champions               Finalists
