Ramstein senior Tristan Chandler jumps as he hits the ball during the boys singles final against Vicenza's Michael Gillett during the DODEA European tennis championships on Oct. 26, 2024, at T2 Sports Health Club in Wiesbaden, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

Coming Sunday: Athletes of the Year in cross country.

The week before the DODEA European tennis championships, Ramstein’s Tristan Chandler noticed something watching his teammate Bernie Novak on carpet courts.

The senior Royal picked out that Novak, a member of the European-qualifying doubles pair with Elliot Radosevich, wasn’t bringing out his hip far enough while serving, hurting his power. He pointed this out to his teammate, saying it could end Novak’s struggles holding his serve.

When Novak followed his advice during the tournament at the T2 Sports Health Club on Oct. 24-26 at the T2 Sports Health Club in Wiesbaden, Germany, Chandler took great pride in Novak’s improvement, as Novak’s weakness became a strength and the Ramstein duo finished runners-up in the boys doubles competition.

This was just one example of Stars and Stripes’ boys tennis European Athlete of the Year taking on a mentor role, one that has highlighted his dream career of becoming a coach.

“People will come up to me and be like, ‘Hey, can you check out my serve? I need something fixed with that,’” Chandler said. “Usually during training, the coaches will ask me to do a drill with them, and I’ll try to fix their technique wherever I can see. I do feel really proud of the team for really taking all of that information from me and executing it in the games.”

The reason players listen: Chandler has dominated the DODEA European tennis scene.

The son of Tammy and Yancy Chandler didn’t lose a single match his entire high school career and dropped just one set – against Marymount’s Leonardo Proietti during the 2022 boys singles title match.

Even in terms of games, Chandler was in a league of his own. During his freshman year at Kaiserslautern, the lone player to get the better of him with a couple of games was then-Ramstein player Collin Ritter. After making the move across the A6 to Ramstein, only European semifinalists picked up games against the Royal ace during his sophomore and junior seasons, Chandler lost only three games his senior campaign, and they all came during the European championships.

It ended in Chandler winning the boys singles crown all four years, the first boy to do so dating back to at least 1970.

“I always kept that on the back of my mind,” Chandler said of sweeping the boys singles titles. “I didn’t really think that it would be possible. Playing more and more, it was becoming possible to win four times, but that goal has been driving me.”

His Royal teammates weren’t the only ones in awe of Chandler.

He said many complimented him without even facing him or seeing him in action yet. Another example came during the 2024 final against Michael Gillett of Vicenza, as those not competing gushed about his play.

“My mom was actually right next to the kids and they were all like, ‘Oh my God, did you see that shot? Did you see that tweener? Oh my God, he just hit a one-handed backhand,’” Chandler said. “I feel like all these kids are enjoying watching me than having to play me.”

Very few seemed to enjoy competing against him.

Chandler explained how many competitors seemed to give up before the first ball was hit, meaning he made quick work of the matches. It’s very different from his experience with his club team, TuS 1860 Neunkirchen, which plays in the fifth tier of the German tennis pyramid, or in German national tournaments.

That’s why he appreciated the final against Gillett. Although Chandler swept the Cougar sophomore 6-1, 6-1, Gillett didn’t play scared and pushed Chandler on many points.

“When you expect to lose, you really expect the worst and you don’t play your best,” Chandler said. “But Gillet … he was really wanting more and more and more. He came out fearless and confident in his shots, and he was able to produce some really great shots and rallies.”

With his high school career behind him, Chandler is turning his sights toward his future.

The Ramstein senior will become a Penman of Southern New Hampshire University, a Division II program. There, he plans to study environmental science and get a master’s degree in meteorology.

As shown by his pointers for Novak, though, Chandler said he wants to look at coaching the sport he loves. He already helps his club coach, Frank Schmitz, during offseason camps for younger kids, and Chandler described how much he enjoys that.

“I really want to focus on coaching tennis,” Chandler said. “My dream job would be being a pro coach and coaching someone that goes to grand slams and Masters and all of that. That would be my far-off dream.”