Audra Cohen’s tennis journey began in a unique way. As an active kid, Cohen’s parents enrolled her in all the after-school activities they could think of so she would be exhausted at the end of the day. These activities ranged from swimming to tennis; however, tennis stuck with Cohen and became her true passion. When Cohen was 12 years old her family moved from California to Florida, which changed her tennis perspective. “My coaches in Florida saw talent in me early and really spent a lot of time helping me develop my skills,” said Cohen. I just kept playing and getting better.”
Cohen reached her goal of playing collegiately and dominated the competition during her time at Northwestern and the University of Miami. She earned the “Triple Crown” of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association by winning the All-American Tournament, the National Indoors and the NCAA Singles titles. She also went 76-4 in singles and was the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Player of the Year twice. “My favorite part of my career was playing college tennis,” said Cohen. “Playing an individual sport while also being a part of team was such a great atmosphere.”
After college, Cohen decided to turn pro and was only on tour for a year before she started coaching. She served as an assistant coach at Wisconsin for two years before landing her first head coaching job at the University of North Florida at only 25 years old. Cohen then took over the head coaching reigns at the University of Oklahoma in 2016. There is not much Cohen hasn’t done in regards to tennis, and the craziest part of her story? She’s the only one in her family to ever play the sport.
Cohen’s family currently owns an art publishing company in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where they represent and run different types of showcases for various artists. She grew up helping her parents run these showcases by serving as a bartender and giving out free wine to the attendees. Today, Cohen still has a love for art. “In my house in Norman, there were a couple of paintings on the wall and my mom would call me and ask if I had a certain piece and she would tell me to go to FedEx to get it shipped because she had sold it,” said Cohen. “I’ve always been around really great art. My favorite piece in my house is by an artist named Barbarian and it’s this big, yellow head and he’s making a peace sign. I try not to Zoom in front of it because not everyone understands it, but it’s really bright and kind of funky.”
While working for her parents’ art publishing company, Cohen learned many valuable lessons she has carried with her in coaching collegiate tennis. “I learned that having everything be perfect and consistent day in and day out is not a realistic expectation,” Cohen explained. “Growing up around a small business and building it into something that can sustain through economic shifts in our society and then truly understanding how resilient you have to be in those down periods in order to make it through and be successful has definitely helped me in my coaching career.”
Entering her fourth season as the head coach at Oklahoma, Cohen has lifted the OU women’s program to new heights. Her favorite part of coaching is seeing the overall growth of the student-athletes. “I love seeing how much they go from being a kid where a lot of things are taken care of for them to being young adults that are prepared to take on the future and become leaders in society,” said Cohen. “Watching everyone succeed, whether it’s on the court or in the workplace, with the lessons they have learned while playing college tennis is the most rewarding part.”
Like all coaches, Cohen has faced challenges with continuing normalcy during the world-wide COVID-19 pandemic. She has had her fair share of challenges with tennis and for her, COVID-19 is just another obstacle. “I’ve remained active with my players by creating different activities over Zoom,” Cohen said. “Every team Zoom has a different athlete as the leader and they have to come up with a team-building exercise. We’ve played Kahoot, different virtual games and a couple players have even interviewed former players.”
Seeing her players take on this responsibility has been one of the silver linings she has found during these challenging times. “Seeing their creative side and getting them to take ownership of their own team meeting has been pretty fun to watch.”
Cohen’s tennis journey has certainly been one for the books. With the intention to burn off energy as a young child, her career has led her to dominate college tennis and become a head coach at the age of 25. Alongside her journey, she acquired a love for art that she still carries with her today. Her unique path has equipped her to care for and develop her student-athletes in a way that produces success on the tennis court, in the classroom and in life. Yes, she has done it all but the best part is – she’s not done yet.
Written by Jett Johnson
Cohen reached her goal of playing collegiately and dominated the competition during her time at Northwestern and the University of Miami. She earned the “Triple Crown” of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association by winning the All-American Tournament, the National Indoors and the NCAA Singles titles. She also went 76-4 in singles and was the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Player of the Year twice. “My favorite part of my career was playing college tennis,” said Cohen. “Playing an individual sport while also being a part of team was such a great atmosphere.”
After college, Cohen decided to turn pro and was only on tour for a year before she started coaching. She served as an assistant coach at Wisconsin for two years before landing her first head coaching job at the University of North Florida at only 25 years old. Cohen then took over the head coaching reigns at the University of Oklahoma in 2016. There is not much Cohen hasn’t done in regards to tennis, and the craziest part of her story? She’s the only one in her family to ever play the sport.
Cohen’s family currently owns an art publishing company in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where they represent and run different types of showcases for various artists. She grew up helping her parents run these showcases by serving as a bartender and giving out free wine to the attendees. Today, Cohen still has a love for art. “In my house in Norman, there were a couple of paintings on the wall and my mom would call me and ask if I had a certain piece and she would tell me to go to FedEx to get it shipped because she had sold it,” said Cohen. “I’ve always been around really great art. My favorite piece in my house is by an artist named Barbarian and it’s this big, yellow head and he’s making a peace sign. I try not to Zoom in front of it because not everyone understands it, but it’s really bright and kind of funky.”
While working for her parents’ art publishing company, Cohen learned many valuable lessons she has carried with her in coaching collegiate tennis. “I learned that having everything be perfect and consistent day in and day out is not a realistic expectation,” Cohen explained. “Growing up around a small business and building it into something that can sustain through economic shifts in our society and then truly understanding how resilient you have to be in those down periods in order to make it through and be successful has definitely helped me in my coaching career.”
Entering her fourth season as the head coach at Oklahoma, Cohen has lifted the OU women’s program to new heights. Her favorite part of coaching is seeing the overall growth of the student-athletes. “I love seeing how much they go from being a kid where a lot of things are taken care of for them to being young adults that are prepared to take on the future and become leaders in society,” said Cohen. “Watching everyone succeed, whether it’s on the court or in the workplace, with the lessons they have learned while playing college tennis is the most rewarding part.”
Like all coaches, Cohen has faced challenges with continuing normalcy during the world-wide COVID-19 pandemic. She has had her fair share of challenges with tennis and for her, COVID-19 is just another obstacle. “I’ve remained active with my players by creating different activities over Zoom,” Cohen said. “Every team Zoom has a different athlete as the leader and they have to come up with a team-building exercise. We’ve played Kahoot, different virtual games and a couple players have even interviewed former players.”
Seeing her players take on this responsibility has been one of the silver linings she has found during these challenging times. “Seeing their creative side and getting them to take ownership of their own team meeting has been pretty fun to watch.”
Cohen’s tennis journey has certainly been one for the books. With the intention to burn off energy as a young child, her career has led her to dominate college tennis and become a head coach at the age of 25. Alongside her journey, she acquired a love for art that she still carries with her today. Her unique path has equipped her to care for and develop her student-athletes in a way that produces success on the tennis court, in the classroom and in life. Yes, she has done it all but the best part is – she’s not done yet.
Written by Jett Johnson
