Julie thu

We want to welcome a newly-elected board member to NWTO, Mariko Fritz-Krockow. As a new tournament player to age-level events, Mariko brings a wealth of talent on court and enthusiasm off court for senior tennis.

Mariko was born in Japan and almost immediately moved to Germany where she lived until moving to the Washington DC area at age 4. That’s where she first picked up a racket, playing a few 10 and under tournaments and losing everything because she just wanted to hit the ball hard. At age 10, she moved to Barbados where she met a coach who really started to focus on her game. Her family moved back to Japan a few years later and Mariko joined an academy and started playing on the Junior ITF tour. Her hard work paid off and she was awarded the opportunity to play in Junior Wimbledon, one of her fondest tennis memories. In her words, walking onto a Wimbledon court “is everything you could ever imagine!” She finally settled back in the US at age 17.

Mariko was excited for the opportunity to play college tennis because in the early 2000s, in Japan, junior tennis players generally didn’t play tennis in college. They either went to college to study or went pro. She signed to play tennis at UCLA and won the Pac-10 Doubles Championship her freshman year and made the NCAA National Tournament. Despite her success on court, going to UCLA was a huge culture shock and she didn’t adjust particularly well. Mariko ended up transferring to the University of Virginia her sophomore year.

She thrived at UVA being closer to her family, and her experience there allowed her to explore and discover all the other things she could be passionate about. 

Setting aside her aspiration to go pro after UVA, she started a successful career path. Mariko spent 9 months in an AmeriCorps program in Washington DC. From there, she moved to Sydney, Australia to pursue a Masters in Social Development, after which she moved to the San Francisco Bay Area and entered the tech sector as a Community Manager. She continued a career in Marketing, Communications and Community Management for 10+ years before choosing to stay home with her two children. Today, Mariko coaches tennis privately and spends her time supporting causes and organizations she is passionate about, mainly around diversity and belonging.

Mariko has known about age-level tennis since she was a junior because her mother, Hiko Fritz-Krockow, played. Hiko still plays today and is also a NWTO member. Mariko didn’t start playing age-level tournaments herself until 2021, but has been obsessed ever since! She won her first gold ball with her mother when she was a teenager for Mother-Daughter Grass Courts. Her next ball was in 2021, and today she has 5 gold balls, 2 silver and 3 bronze. She was runner-up with her mom last year in Mother-Daughter Hard Courts and says, “I love being on the court with my mother. There’s a comfort there – we know and trust each other – and can completely be ourselves with each other on the court. For better or for worse.” Her mom is the reason she started playing tennis, and the person who recently reignited her passion to compete once again.

Of tennis, Mariko says, “I know that I’m well understood amongst this group when I say this but the tennis court is where I feel at home. Other stresses in life melt away when you’re on the court and it’s only you and that little fuzzy ball. When you meet another tennis player, there’s an instant bond no matter how different your backgrounds may be. The camaraderie that I’ve felt from fellow adult tennis players is what has kept me in the game, and what I expect will keep me here for years to come.”