The annual Charlottesville Challenger, a pro tournament hosted at Boar’s Head Sports Club, always draws a crowd. But for three participants, the tournament felt less like another stop on the circuit and more like a homecoming.
Thai-Son Kwiatkowski, James Hopper and Iñaki Montes de la Torre returned to the courts where they built their college legacies. For each, the week carried something deeper than their match outcomes or rankings. It was a return to where their stories began, a chance to connect with the current team, and for Montes and Hopper, a chance to reunite as doubles partners — this time, on the professional stage.
Class of 2017 alum Kwiatkowski helped define an era of dominance for Virginia tennis, helping the Cavaliers to three NCAA team titles and the 2017 NCAA Singles Championship. For him, walking back onto the Boar’s Head tennis courts was about returning to the place that means most to him.
“I've grown up coming to Charlottesville since I was a little kid,” Kwiatkowski said. “Both my parents went to U.Va. and were double Hoos. I grew up wanting to go here.”
Even now, Kwiatkowski still follows the football team closely. He remembers the age where the team struggled, losing game after game, sometimes in heartbreaking fashion. So he is quite enjoying the current renaissance.
The school was so deep in his blood that when it came time for college recruitment, there was never much doubt.
“Of course I looked at a lot of places,” Kwiatkowski said. “But to be honest, [Virginia] was the only official visit I ever took. I had, of course, some chances to go to other places … but my heart was always set on coming here.”
That sense of belonging only deepened with time. After graduating in 2017, Kwiatkowski stayed in Charlottesville for five more years, training under assistant coach Carlos Benatzky and continuing to use Virginia’s facilities with the support of Coach Andres Pedroso while he played a grueling schedule.
“This is God's country,” Kwiatkowski said, laughing. “I just loved, loved being here, and it was a great place to rest my mind after being on the road three, four weeks in a row … [Coming] home to Charlottesville is always a great reset.”
When Kwiatkowski returned this fall, it was not just for the Challenger but also for the 10-year NCAA reunion of the national title team. The week became a full-circle celebration of both his professional and personal ties to the University.
“Boar’s Head is like a playground for us,” Kwiatkowski said. “So we'll play golf, play padel, eat at all our favorite restaurants here and maybe go to some wineries if our wives are with us.”
Kwiatkowski said the reunion reminded him of everything the University gave him beyond tennis — lifelong friendships, community and a network that continues to open doors. He mentioned how his current boss graduated from the Darden School of Business and how his girlfriend played lacrosse for Virginia. Even years after graduating, he strongly believes this place is so special.
Although he retired from full-time tennis in 2024 to start his career in finance, Kwiatkowski still finds joy in competing, especially when it brings him back home. He lost his first match this weekend in straight sets, but the experience was more than just winning and losing. It was another reminder of what this place means to him.
“It all worked out in a serendipitous way,” Kwiatkowski said. “We had an amazing four years. It feels like an eternity ago now … it was almost 10 years, and it was a great time. I love Charlottesville with all my heart.”
Less than two years after Montes’ graduation in 2024 and one year after Hopper’s in 2025, the pair returned to the courts where they had spent countless hours side by side competing, training and building the doubles team chemistry that carried them to an NCAA title. This time, the stage was different. They were no longer representing Virginia. Now, they were professionals, reunited as doubles partners on the ATP Challenger Tour. The chemistry was instant, and so was the nostalgia.
“We both remembered how much fun we had in the season we had playing together and how well we work on court together, chemistry wise,” Hopper said. “I think our game styles come together pretty well on the doubles court, and we complement each other well.”
Both players also spoke about the adjustment to life on tour — long travel, independence, the challenge of finding rhythm without the built-in structure of college tennis.
“It became very lonely for me,” Montes said. “I came from living with 10 of my best friends … coaches, friends around the University and having everything done for you … And then going on the tour, it was the complete opposite, traveling alone, having to manage your own flights, hotels, food.”
This reflection is why this week meant so much to both Hopper and Montes. They said that being back with the team, seeing the coaches on the sidelines and hearing the crowd cheer, it felt like Virginia college tennis all over again.
Both Hopper and Montes admitted they could not pick a single favorite memory from their college years — there were simply too many. Hopper said what stood out most were the small moments like team dinners where everyone stacked their phones in the middle of the table so there were no distractions.
“It's just catching up, hanging out, bantering with all the guys,” Hopper said.
Montes added that some memories went beyond the court entirely. When the team won an NCAA title, Montes recalled, “As an international student to still have a party of your own in your house where you hire security, you hire a DJ, you invite over 800 people.”
Both players left Charlottesville fulfilled. Their ongoing connection to the program, they said, reflects what Virginia tennis has built under Pedroso — a culture that lasts long after their final walk on the Lawn. Montes said he spent as much time as possible hanging out with the current players — breakfast, lunch, dinner and invading the team’s house.
For Kwiatkowski, Hopper and Montes, returning to Boar’s Head meant more than chasing ranking points. It was more about finding time for familiar rituals.
Between practice sessions and matches, they found time for familiar rituals such as dinner with “the boys,” catching up with coaches and revisiting the same haunts that defined their college years. The laughter came easily, and so did the memories.
Before heading back on the road, conversation turned, fittingly, to one last Charlottesville staple — Bodo’s. Hopper kept his classic order of a sausage, egg and cheese with salt, pepper and ketchup on either a sesame or everything bagel. Kwiatkowski went for something more unconventional — an everything bagel with turkey, egg and provolone, plus a plain bagel with blueberry cream cheese and turkey.
Simple as it was, the bagel trip felt right — a small, comforting reminder that some traditions do not change, even when everything else does.
And when the next championship banner goes up, the three former Cavaliers are already planning their return.
“[We’ll] make sure to get our invite,” Hopper said.
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