His teammates call him “birdman.”
He plays freely, he “lets it fly.” He flies from one end of the court to the other. It is a nickname that Virginia men’s tennis sophomore Dylan Dietrich owns, and one that he feels represents his style of play fairly well. There are also some off-the-court reasons the moniker has stuck — the bleached hair for one, alongside the outfit choices and other idiosyncrasies.
“We kind of started it because, like, I'm as free as a bird,” Dietrich said. “Because I sometimes dress a little crazy … that's basically where it came from. I'm, like, flying from place to place, or, like, when I hit the hard shot it’s like, ‘let it fly,’ or like, ‘spread those wings.’”
Dietrich is certainly spreading his wings this season. The 2024 ACC Freshman of the Year has already been named ACC Player of the Week twice and is on a tear to start the season. His progress has seen him assume the role as Virginia’s star player. Currently ranked No. 26 in the nation, the 6-foot-5 star from Zurich, Switzerland has played almost every outing on Court 1 this spring. That comes with an added pressure to set an example both on and off the court.
“I feel like, if you're playing number one, everyone is, in a sense, looking up to you,” Dietrich said. “Or at least, that's at least what it hopefully should be like — you're kind of supposed to be leading by example.”
There is a bit of dissonance between the mistake-free tennis that can be expected of a Court 1 player and what Dietrich is used to bringing to the table. He says he sometimes tries too hard to be a “magician” on the court, something that, on occasion, comes back to bite him.
“If I had to describe myself, I would say it’s kind of a rollercoaster ride,” Dietrich said. “I would say that's how my matches normally look. It can be really, really good, but then there are a few games where it's really, really bad. But it's getting there — less and less of a rollercoaster ride, hopefully.”
That rollercoaster ride, especially its highs, is part of what earned Dietrich his nickname. He possesses the ability to win a point seemingly from anywhere, letting the ball fly and hitting daring shots with tremendous power from even the most difficult angles.
He says he is trying to be more “solid,” to cut out the mistakes and force his opponent to play consistently, letting them be the ones to win him the point.
Consistency also comes off the court — simply showing up and being able to play at a high level each week is extremely important. A team playing without its top singles player is forced to make major adjustments, putting them at an immediate disadvantage. For Dietrich, this means that the new role brings an added pressure to show up and perform even when not at 100 percent.
In No. 5 Virginia’s recent matches against No. 4 Ohio State and No. 3 Texas, Dietrich went undefeated in singles — defeating singles opponents then ranked at No. 11 and No. 2. He did that while playing with a nagging injury on his arm, one that he says caused him to lose all his singles matches the prior weekend against Boise State and No. 18 Alabama.
Though the shoulder and arm still troubled him to the extent that he could not practice as usual, Dietrich said he spent the week after his losses finding other ways to improve, hoping to set an example for a team that is relying heavily on freshmen to start the season.
“[Just] showing the guys that I'm out there, and I'm trying to do anything to get better, to try to keep on improving, even if it's not tennis-wise,” Dietrich said. “That hopefully inspires others on the team.”
Dietrich said the tennis team is like a brotherhood. When asked about his goals for the season, his first response was not a title, nor to improve a certain part of his game. He has a simple goal of just spending time with his friends and making the best of his college experience.
The results of this can be seen on the court — Dietrich said that what pushes his play to a new level is hearing his teammates playing around him. Close games certainly pump up the adrenaline, but hearing his brothers give it their all, Dietrich said, allows him to kick it up a notch.
“I think it kind of pushes you to go over the limit, in a sense, it kind of gives you extra motivation,” Dietrich said. “Even when you're down and you just look over and you see the other guys battling out there — I think that really motivates me, it kind of gives me an extra gear.”
In the Cavaliers’ recent comeback win over the Longhorns, Dietrich, still nursing a tweaked shoulder and bicep, managed to take his opponent — then the No. 2-ranked singles player in the country — to a third set.
Hearing his teammate, freshman Rafael Jódar, winning a set-two tiebreak to keep Virginia’s hopes alive gave him even more energy, allowing him to bring a competitive third set home.
“When they got loud on Court 1, I knew, like, okay, Rafa is going to be there,” Dietrich said. “He's fighting his a-s off, so he's gonna turn that match. And it kind of gave that extra energy.”
The camaraderie with his teammates and succeeding alongside them is important to Dietrich, who says he likes to play and live with a “no regrets” attitude. The last thing he would want is to look back at a close match and think about a ball he could have reached — he would much rather dive for it and move forward having at least tried.
That also applies to his life away from the court — his desire to make the most of his college experience and share memories with his teammates is part of that same desire to live without regrets.
Those relationships, coupled with the added responsibility of being a top team’s marquee player, is what pushes Dietrich to perform at the level to which he has.
“You're fighting with your brothers basically side by side,” Dietrich said. “So even if some days you might not feel too well, or you feel tired, you'll just try to do anything for your friends, for your brothers out there.”
Dietrich has risen to the occasion after assuming the role as Virginia's de facto star. With added responsibilities and pressure, it might be harder to keep that same energy, that same bravado that defines Dietrich's play.
But it has not — the birdman is soaring.
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