1. Bradley Klahn Took Up Tennis At Age Of 11
His mom, Nancy, played collegiate tennis at the University of Iowa, but she never pushed her three children into the sport. Klahn played baseball, basketball and soccer before starting tennis at 11 years of age.
“As soon as I picked it up, all the others started getting weeded out pretty quickly,” he said. “I just really liked the individual aspect of it. I just kinda fell in love with competing in the tournaments and having the pressure be on me and seeing if I could problem solve on court. Figuring out ways to win is always really exciting for me.”
2. Post-Surgery Set Up With Future Fiancée
Klahn recently got engaged to Abbie Hageman, and enlisted the help of his family for the proposal. He had his mom, dad and brother come up from San Diego under the guise of taking Klahn and Hageman out to dinner in Malibu. They planned on taking a walk on the beach beforehand, and he popped the question there. He had one more surprise for Hagemann, as her best friend and husband joined them at dinner to celebrate the occasion.
“She had no idea,” said Klahn. “It was also a little funny because she was stressing out about my parents seeing our new apartment, so she was running around. I’m trying to get her to get ready and look nice so we can go to the beach. Five minutes before we’re supposed to head out the door, she’s shoving boxes into closets and making sure the apartment’s presentable.”
They’ve been together for a little over three years, and were set up by a doctor at UCLA, whose family Klahn was staying with following surgery. Hageman, currently in his fourth year at UCLA medical school, worked as a research coordinator for the doctor at the time. “He was paging her in the middle of work and telling her that she needed to look me up, and would she go on a date with me. The rest has taken care of itself.”
Klahn and Hageman are looking to get married next year, possibly in the spring, before she starts residency.
3. Graduated From Stanford University
Klahn attended Stanford University and considered forgoing his final two years after winning the 2010 NCAA singles title as a sophomore. In the end, he made the decision to stay. “I thought I’d regret it more if I left early as opposed to sticking it out and getting my degree,” he said.
He now considers receiving his economics degree as one of his proudest accomplishments. “My parents always pushed education for me. I’m very thankful they did, as well,” he said. “I loved school, I loved everything about school: the social life, the going to school, challenging my mind, still being able to play tennis at a great university. A lot of the friends I made there are life-long friends for me.”
Klahn, who trains in Carson, still enjoys going back to Stanford to watch football games in the fall and to see all his friends in San Francisco.
4. Brother Has Pilot License
Klahn has two younger siblings, Kathryn and Bryan, who also attended school in the Bay Area, at Santa Clara University. His sister lives in San Francisco and works for Cisco. His brother used to be an accountant, but recently got his pilot license and has been accepted into the National Guard.
“Quite the career change for him, but he’s always had a love of aviation and flying. I’m really excited for him to pursue a passion that he loves just as much as I love tennis,” said Klahn.
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5. Loves The San Jose Sharks
While they were in college, Klahn’s brother got him into his biggest hobby outside of tennis: ice hockey. They became huge fans of the nearby San Jose Sharks, and continue to follow the team.
“I just love everything about the sport, the action. I don’t think there’s anything like watching hockey live, especially playoff hockey,” said Klahn. “That’s probably the one sport where my brother and I, during the season, wherever I am, I’m finding a way to stream the game. It doesn’t matter what hour of the day it is. We’re always getting some text message throughout, going back and forth about it.”.readfullarticle
