The Nebraska men’s tennis team has added Kevin Konfederak, one of the country’s top former NAIA players, to its coaching staff as an assistant coach, head coach Sean Maymi announced on Monday, April 11.
A Buenos Aires, Argentina native, Konfederak brings a wealth of athletic experience to the Husker staff. He was a four-time NAIA national champion for Georgia Gwinnett College, competing in the No. 1 position for both singles and doubles. He was ranked No. 1 in the country all four years and had an exceptional professional career after college. His best ATP ranking was 470 when he was 20 years old, and Konfederak was able to win two ITF Futures tournaments. For the last five years, he has coached in Buenos Aires.
“I am super excited to have Kevin as a part of our coaching team,” Maymi said. “He brings an unbelievable level of experience, passion and work ethic to our program. The student-athletes will benefit greatly from all he has to offer.”
Konfederak, who earned a bachelor’s degree in business with a concentration in marketing from Georgia Gwinnett College, is ready to get started with the Huskers.
“I’m super excited to be a part of the Husker family,” Konfederak said. “It was a long time coming until I finally got here, and I’m ready to go to work. One day at a time, brick by brick.”
Konfederak Bio
Kevin Konfederak joined the Nebraska men’s tennis team as an assistant coach in April of 2022. A Buenos Aires, Argentina native, Konfederak brings an impressive playing and coaching pedigree to the Husker staff.
Before joining the Grizzlies, he was ranked No. 17 in the by the ITF and was a Junior Davis Cup Finalist. While in Argentina, he maintained a ranking of No. 1 at the U14 and U16 levels.
Konfederak then played all four years of his collegiate career with the Georgia Gwinnett Grizzlies. He was a four-time NAIA national champion for the Grizzlies and competed in the No. 1 position for singles and doubles during his time there. Over those four years, the team went an outstanding 103-0 in dual matches and currently have not lost a match since 2015. He was ranked No. 1 all four years he was there and took home numerous NAIA singles and doubles national titles. The Argentina native was ranked among the best collegiate players in America and record victories his senior year in the ITA Fall National Championships over Texas A&M, Ohio State and Florida State.
In Konfederak’s professional career, his best ATP ranking was 470 ATP at 20 years old, and he was able to win two ITF Futures tournaments.
Following his playing career, Konfederak worked for five years at the Racket Club Academy in Buenos Aires. He was the tennis director in high-performance and was able to work with some of the best juniors of Argentina. He has worked with three professional players, including Guido Andreozzi, Guido Pella and Francisco Cerundolo.
Working with Andreozzi in 2018, Konfederak guided him to his best ranking of 78 and led him to a main draw at all Grand Slam Events.
In 2019, Pella won his first ATP 250 title and made the quarterfinals at Wimbledon. He also advanced to the quarterfinals at Monte-Carlo and reached his best ranking of 22 ATP.
In January 2022, Konfederak began working with Cerundolo, who at the time was 125 ATP. In their first tournament together, Cerundolo won a challenger, and then he made quarterfinals at Buenos Aires (ATP 250), semifinals at Rio Open (ATP 500) and his most recent result was to reach the semifinals at the Miami Open. Cerundolo is now ranked 51 in the world.
Konfederak is the son of Gabriel Konfederak and Sandra Smidt and graduated in 2018 from Georgia Gwinnett College with a degree in business with a concentration in marketing.
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