CINCINNATI — After months of anticipation, tennis fans rejoice. The Cincinnati Open starts in just a few days! And if you play — then you know — tennis can be a frustrating, even agonizing sport.
But one tennis coach, with a love for Ohio, is finding the funny for tens of thousands of fans.
"We're a silent sport. You're supposed to put a straight face and just marched through life and if you're suffering, keep it quiet. I feel like I want to break that a little bit," said Tennis Coach Conor Casey.
Casey is no longer staying silent.
"Look, most of us aren't champions. But we're constantly evaluating where we stand or posturing. [Tennis] is just so ripe for comedy," he said.
The former Ohio State tennis player turned pro, turned Instagram star is serving up tennis comedy daily for more than 40-thousand followers who know the struggle on the court is real.
"I get a lot of like, accurate or, I feel seen," he said.
We spoke to Casey via Zoom from his home in Kingston, Ontario.
The Canadian said he fell in love with the Buckeye State — when he was a Buckeye.
"The Ohio State sort of approached me yeah when I was number one in Canada as a junior in the in the doubles and number four in singles. No scholarship available but wanted me to take a chance on them. I said no," he said.
He turned down OSU initially and went to Ole Miss. But he did transfer back and said it’s the people that make the place.
"I just love Ohio people, I've always had a nice kinship to them," Casey said.
"I'm a big Skyline Chili fan too," he said.
As for his Instagram page, Casey said success didn’t happen overnight. But he kept his eye on the ball.
"I said, okay, I have to post once a day for 50 days and around the 48th video, I did this college size-up video where two college tennis players are sort of sussing each other out how we all do," he said, "And that one got like a million views in like a couple of days. And I was like, okay, I gotta keep leaning into the comedy."
Casey was already leaning that way.
"For the better part of the last 10-15 years been writing like sitcoms and Toronto and LA," he said.
Now, he’s merged his two loves, drawing on his experiences both as a coach and in the writer's room.
And said just like in tennis — comedy is all about timing.
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