Ellie Coleman and Emma Jackson: An Unbreakable Bond

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• Jackson Bio
• Coleman Bio

by Morgan Pruchniewski, Duke Athletics Communications Student Assistant

DURHAM -- While Ellie Coleman and Emma Jackson are now teammates for the Blue Devils, their bond goes far beyond that.

Coleman and Jackson have known each other since they were just 11 years old. As the top juniors from their home states of Michigan and Illinois, respectively, they frequently ran into each other at tournaments in the Midwest, teaming up for some and competing against each other for others.

"The thing I'm most proud of them is their maturity," said Ellie's mom, Jen Coleman. "It is very hard to have good, solid friends in junior tennis. Your friend can be your opponent at any time. In the first round of the Midwest Championships…that happened to them! They could be competitors in the moment and friends all other times."

Along their Midwest juniors' careers, Coleman and Jackson became doubles partners.

"We did well in doubles together," said Jackson. "We won the Midwest's Champions for 14-Under and the National Level II in Florida for 14-Under."

After finding success together, the two separated for a time through playing different tournaments, but ended up finding their way back together through Duke. Jackson and Coleman are the only women's tennis players in their class and were able to get even closer through training at Evert Tennis Academy in Boca Raton, Fla., for the year before coming to Duke.

"Even though we've never lived in the same state, our lives were very similar," said Jackson. "Training together before we got here at Evert and all of our shared experiences helped us to get as close as we are now."

Although Jackson (La Grange Park, Ill.) and Coleman (Midland, Mich.) are both now far from home, the duo have been able to give each other a taste of home and serve as a support system since joining the Blue Devils.

"It's really cool to have our off-court friendship carry on court and get to support each other," said Coleman. "The times we've played doubles have been awesome to see how we've developed from where we started playing together. Just to have each other as a support system off court whenever I need someone to talk to has been beyond great."

"Anytime we have a clinching moment, we just immediately run over to hug each other," said Jackson. "It's so amazing to be able to support and be excited for each other. Our families have also been able to get super close."

The Duke tandem have had plenty of opportunities to celebrate those moments as they have combined to clinch 19 matches in just two seasons with the Blue Devils.  The classmates have made an immediate impact for Duke collecting 20+ singles wins in each of their first two seasons and helped lead the Blue Devils to the ACC Championship as freshmen and 22 wins so far in 2022-23.  

Support Jackson and Coleman, along with the rest of the sixth-ranked Blue Devils, against their UNC rivals April 14 at 3:00 p.m. at Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center in Chapel Hill.
 

Women's Tennis 4/10/2023 9:14:00 AM

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