Slovakian Tennis Star Daubnerova Steps Into Collegiate Play At Florida

Nikola Daubnerova picked up tennis at age 5 and never looked back. Now, she’s an electric new addition to the Florida women’s tennis team, looking to play a pivotal role in the Gators’ success.

Daubnerova, 19, has won 10 doubles titles and was ranked fifth in the world as a junior in 2023. At Florida, she went 2-2 in fall singles play and posted an impressive 3-1 doubles record with fellow freshman Noémie Oliveras. Early in the spring season, Nikola is 3-2 in both singles and doubles and is looking to improve her game.

Finding Passion

From Bratislava, Slovakia, Daubnerova grew up in a lively city where tennis is a fairly popular sport. Picking up a racket in her free time, Daubnerova found a passion for the game and spent years playing tennis as a hobby she enjoyed at her leisure.

After her fifth year of primary, Daubnerova had to change schools and realized that if she could get into a fancy, high-level school, she could have the opportunity of training with the best and playing tennis at the professional level. Realizing that she had the opportunity to play more serious tennis than ever before, a switch seemed to flip inside the 11 year old, as she jumped into more rigorous training and inspired her sister to play tennis as well.

The first year of Daubnerova’s play with her new tennis club wasn’t the easiest. She struggled against opponents who had already adapted to playing at the professional level.

“The first year was really tough, because I started practicing and playing against players that were already at the professional level,” Daubnerova said.

However, this didn’t deter Daubnerova from continuing to improve her game. Daubnerova revealed that after that first year she began working with her first coach, who taught her a lot about the game and sparked her professional journey.

Early Success

Citing her first tennis coach as one of the most important people in her tennis career, Daubnerova continued to train with him and develop into her early teens, finding success in local tournaments like the J5 Slovenska Lupca and the J5 Bratislava in 2019. Getting a taste of national success, Daubnerova knew right away that international play was something that she wanted to pursue.

By the time she got to secondary school, Daubnerova had improved and found herself traveling the world, winning junior international tournaments like the J5 Alt Erlaa in Austria, the J3 Liepaja in Latvia and the J2 Santa Cruz in Bolivia in 2021.

Wimbledon And Klosters

In 2022, Daubnerova continued her dominance by making it to the doubles semifinals at Wimbledon alongside Lucija Ciric Bagaric of Croatia just weeks before winning the 2022 European Championships in Klosters, Switzerland, playing doubles with her friend Nina Vargova.

Daubnerova explained that playing at Wimbledon — her favorite grand slam — was a dream come true, but playing on grass courts and with a partner she hadn’t played with much posed a challenge.

“It was just a different sport I feel like. Lot of us have never played on grass before, so it was really more about the experience,” Daubnerova said.

Playing in Klosters later that month posed challenges with a high altitude and grueling singles matches, but with Vargova as her doubles partner, Daubnerova entered the tournament with an air of confidence.

Her chemistry with Vargova as one of the most important aspects of their win, “we both wanted to win so bad … we had the coach that was supporting us throughout the whole thing, and then, I mean, after the last point, it was just like an unreal feeling,” Daubnerova said.

Securing the international win for Slovakia was a dream come true for the 16 year old: a feat young athletes around the world merely fantasize about.

“That’s the thing I loved about most all the European like summer cups, just getting to represent my country is something else,” said Daubnerova, who was proud to bring home the championship for Slovakia and was even brought to tears during the post-tournament ceremony’s national anthem, highlighting her insurmountable passion for her country and sport.

Family

Despite her experience and poise on the court, Daubnerova doesn’t come from a family of decorated tennis professionals, but of volleyball players.

“It was funny because most of my family played volleyball and my grandma played water polo. So it was kind of like a little weird why I chose tennis,” Daubnerova said.

Although her busy schedule — balancing classes, practice, tutoring, and rehab, while managing a six-hour time difference with her family in Slovakia — presents communicative challenges, staying connected with her loved ones is a top priority. Despite the obstacles, Daubnerova makes it a point to call her family every day and text her sister whenever she can.

Florida

Daubnerova’s family also played a big role in her decision to play at Florida. It was during a 2017 family trip the Daubnerovas took to America that Daubnerova fell in love with Florida, admitting that it’s her favorite place in the United States. Her family took her to see a Panthers’ NHL game and visited the Everglades, giving her a fantastic, memorable vacation and marking her first connection to the swamp of Florida and its gators.

Daubnerova also marks Florida’s coaches and players as influential factors in her decision to come to Florida because she was able to contact and build relationships with coaches during her period of international play and development. She also got to meet her fellow Florida teammates before deciding to make the leap to the university.

“What actually made me come here was the coaches … I was probably in contact with them for a good, like, year and a half before I actually got here. I also visited, and I think we got on with the girls super well” Daubnerova said.

She has been working on both her singles and doubles game in Gainesville, focusing on being physical and transitioning her hard work into point play during matches. Daubnerova said consistency, physicality and a strong mentality are keys to her doubles and singles success and are what she has focused on at Florida in her transition from professional to collegiate play.

Nilsson

Daubnerova wasn’t the only one to start their journey as a Gator this year. Florida coach Per Nilsson joined the Gators in October after nine years of coaching at Pepperdine.

Despite coaching a brand new set of players and not getting to work with them much prior to the spring season, Nilsson has seen Daubnerova’s potential.

“She’s a power player that likes to attack,” Nilsson said. “She has a big serve and its fun to coach those players because they can be in control. She obviously has a lot of experience from the junior tour and now were trying to take it to another level here.”

Daubnerova has already begun to notice the effects of a new coach on her mentality and play and can see Florida’s coaching staff’s excitement for the future.

“Our new head coach here basically been just working together for, like, what, two, two-and-a-half weeks, but I can already see improvement,” she said.

Nilsson spoke highly of  Daubnerova, highlighting her leadership and willingness to learn.

“She’s one of the players that, you know, has bought in right away with what we’re trying to do … other players can see, well, she’s doing it I better do it too,” Nilsson said.

Future

Coming to Gainesville seems to have been the right decision for the freshman.

“I couldn’t be happier that I went. It’s an extraordinary experience so far … everyone here just makes it feel like home,” Daubnerova said.

Daubnerova continues to stay laser-focused on her collegiate play and puts in effort not only to excel on the court, but to be the best teammate she can, supporting her fellow Gators every step of the way. She hopes to take her talents to the professional level to compete with the best in the world after college — a goal she has had “since forever.”

Nilsson also recognized that Daubnerova has improved quickly at Florida and expressed excitement for what she can accomplish in the future.

“I think she’s maturing mentally and physically, and I think she’s going to learn how to actually play tennis and use her strengths to her advantage, and I think she’s going to improve quickly, and then it will be really fun,” he said. “How far can she take it?”