Why Jenson Brooksby’s autism “is a superpower”

Whether it’s sports, tennis—anything in life—I think autistic people are very good at getting in routines and sticking with them. Jenson Brooksby

Jenson Brooksby knew tennis was for him at a very young age. He started playing around 4, toting a racquet around the house, wearing headbands and wristbands like his favorite players and pelting a garage door with Nerf balls. He was swinging plenty, but he wasn’t saying much—Jenson didn’t speak his first words until around the same age. It was an early sign of autism.

“Speech therapy was a full-time job for a while,” Brooksby told Tennis Channel in an exclusive interview. “It was harder to make friends.”

With plenty of support and a relentless focus, Brooksby would eventually turn a childhood obsession into his full-time job. While innate talent was part of that journey, another element is his ability to excel at routines—something all tennis players must embrace.

“He can really lock into a specific skill, and he can do it over, and over, and over again,” says Eric Nunez, Jenson’s coach. “He needs to be very specific, what he’s working on—explaining the ‘why’ sometimes is important, because he can see the big picture.”

“His attention to detail is very strong,” says Satoshi Ochi, head strength and conditioning coach at the USTA. “And he wants to do it right.”

This year, Brooksby has done more right than ever. Following a third-round showing at Indian Wells, the 24-year-old won his first ATP title in Houston in April—Autism Awareness Month—after coming up short in three prior finals.

Eight days earlier, during qualifying, he saved a match point against Federico Augustin Gomez. Brooksby would go on to save match points two more times in Houston, against the third seed, Alejandro Tabilo, and the top seed, Tommy Paul.

The achievement was the culmination of a return to the tour following a 13-month suspension for missing drug tests (he called the ban “unfair and unfortunate”), and a new team he’s put together, which includes Nunez.

“I really do believe that this autism is a superpower,” says his coach.

We’ll see how far Brooksby’s momentum, and his “superpower,” can take him. The former ATP No. 33 is currently 151^st in the world, and is playing all levels of tournaments in his quest for ranking points, including on the ATP Challenger Tour. This week he traveled to Ilkley, England, where he defeated Yosuke Watanuki before falling to Oliver Crawford.

For his efforts, Brooksby pocketed €3,055 and eight ranking points.

“The next immediate goal is to break back into the Top 100, now that I’m closer to it” says Brooksby, “and then just, I definitely want be able to have more of an emphasis of performing at the big tournaments.”

In all areas, Jenson Brookby has endured challenges—and they’ve all been accepted.