West Philadelphia's Tauheed Browning has eyes on US Open after first pro win
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- It's "dumb." Years ago, that's what West Philly native Tauheed Browning said about tennis.
Since then, he has grown to love the game and hopes to be one of the best.
"We have two goals — Top 100 — and number one in the world. That's it," Charles Goods, better known as Coach Cha, said.
Browning, 20, is turning heads on the tennis court.
But more than a decade ago — his journey began at LEGACY Youth Tennis and Education in East Falls.
"Basically that's been home base for me since I started to be honest. That's where everything started for me and how I got to this level," Browning said.
That level is the ITF World Tennis Tour — a stepping stone to the ATP Tour.
In late June, Browning won his first event as a pro in the Dominican Republic.
Coach Cha has worked with Browning at LEGACY since he was 6 years old.
"He was able to pass the eye test just as it related to certain certain skill set aspects of his game and approach that let us know we had a very special talent on our hands," Coach Cha said.
Now, after his first victory, Browning heads to Africa looking for win number two. And he, like his coach, is setting lofty goals for the future.
"By the end of the year, I wanna be top 400, top 300," Browning said.
"Main goal is definitely play the US Open next year — either qualifying or definitely main draw," he said.
And Coach Cha says there's no reason why that can't happen.
But what is it about Browning's game and mentality that leads you to believe that he can be the number one player in the world?
"Tauheed is a player who has every shot in the game. And he has had every shot in the game since he was 8 years old," Coach Cha said.
"For me, there's no doubt. There's absolutely no doubt in my mind that we're gonna reach the goals that Tauheed is gonna reach the goals that we have set forth," he added.
