By Tennis Now | @TennisNow | Monday, March 10, 2025
Photo credits: Rainer Torrado Studio
A three-time all-American at UCLA Mackenzie McDonald knows all about the value of higher education.
Now, McDonald is paying it forward helping junior players pursue college dreams.
The USTA Foundation, the charitable arm of the United States Tennis Association Incorporated (USTA), along with professional tennis player Mackenzie (Mackie) McDonald, today announced the launch of the USTA Foundation’s Mackie McDonald College Fund.
The Mackie McDonald College Fund is a new initiative that will provide individual player grants to high school seniors who will continue their tennis careers at the collegiate level.
The Fund will directly support student-athletes who progressed through the tennis-playing pathway via the USTA Foundation’s National Junior Tennis & Learning (NJTL) network, a nationwide group of more than 250 sports-based community organizations that use tennis as a tool to prepare young people from under-served communities to be ready for their futures, wherever their lives take them.
McDonald, who has reached a career-high world No. 37 in the ATP singles rankings and No. 49 in ATP doubles rankings, and famously defeated Rafael Nadal in the second round of the 2023 Australian Open, had a stellar Division I collegiate career before turning professional.
A native of Piedmont, Calif., McDonald competed for the UCLA Bruins from 2014-16, earning All-America honors all three years. He finished his final season ranked No. 1 in singles and doubles in the ITA collegiate rankings and swept the NCAA singles and doubles titles in 2016, making him the first man in 15 years–and just the fifth since 1974–to accomplish the feat.
Through the USTA Foundation, McDonald is now using his experiences and platform to inspire the next generation of college-bound students to realize what’s possible and hopes this Fund will help young people understand the importance of education, and foster their personal growth in sports and beyond.
“Going to UCLA turned out to be one of the best decisions I made in my life, and for my life, and I’m happy to be playing a part in helping young people chase their college dreams, on and off the court,” McDonald said. “Working towards ensuring that all young people, no matter where they come from, are able to unlock all the benefits that higher education has to offer is a responsibility that means so much to me, and I can’t wait to see how this Fund supports not just young people and their education, but their families and communities.”
