Northwestern women’s tennis coach Claire Pollard receives an influx of emails on a daily basis from players across the globe. Each player’s goal is the same: to wear purple and black on Pollard’s squad.
Pollard’s experienced eye for talent means only select players meet the five-time Big Ten Coach of the Year’s standard.
In April 2023, Pollard received an email from Mika Dagan Fruchtman, then a 19-year-old from Israel. It didn’t take her long to realize Dagan Fruchtman’s film differed from most.
“I liked everything I saw,” Pollard said. “She’s athletic. She’s strong. She’s powerful … And you could see she kind of wears her heart a little bit on her sleeve.”
Pollard said she saw great ball striking and agility. She marveled at a skilled all-court player with sensational striking ability and agility — a trailblazing competitor who’d been Israel’s top youth player for years. She quickly responded to Dagan Fruchtman, and the next day, the two spoke over the phone.
About 6,000 miles apart, the nationally renowned talent developer and young phenom struck a quick connection.
“We started talking, and I was really interested because the coach sounds amazing,” Dagan Fruchtman said. “I think even before my visit over there, I kind of felt that’s the right place to me. … It just felt different.”
As Dagan Fruchtman grew older, her desire to play college tennis in the United States surged. She knew she could find premier education and coaching across the Atlantic Ocean.
Less than a month after contacting Pollard, Dagan Fruchtman stepped foot in Evanston for an official visit to NU.
A standard Pollard recruiting visit gives recruits a holistic experience of what it’s like to be a Wildcat. Not only do they see facilities and practices, but they are also invited into the Pollard household for team dinners.
In Evanston, Dagan Fruchtman saw a team — players and coaches alike — who love to be around each other, both on the court in Combe Tennis Center and off the court in Pollard’s living room.
“It’s more than a team,” Dagan Fruchtman said. “It’s like a family — a family who loves sports and supports you.”
While the path was far from linear, Pollard and Dagan Fruchtman would eventually bridge the intercontinental gap, as Dagan Fruchtman would soon become the first Israel native to play for Pollard’s squad since Lee Or in 2019.
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Dagan Fruchtman left Evanston without an offer. Pollard loved what she saw from Dagan Fruchtman, the person — her outgoing, mature and charismatic personality — but it wasn’t enough. She needed to see more of Dagan Fruchtman, the tennis player.
For Pollard, seeing her recruits play in person is a non-negotiable factor.
“From a video, it is really easy to say no and almost impossible to say yes,” she said. “I will not take someone just on a video. I just won’t do it.”
One month after Dagan Fruchtman visited campus, assistant coach Ellyse Hamlin touched down in Nakhon Si Thammarat, Thailand, where Dagan Fruchtman was playing in a professional tournament.
Hamlin watched as Dagan Fruchtman played point after point, weighing whether to give the Israeli prodigy an offer. Although she only watched Dagan Fruchtman play one singles match in a first-round 6-3, 7-6(3) loss, it was enough. What Hamlin saw on the court outweighed the match’s scoreline.
“I loved her passion that she exudes when she plays,” Hamlin said. “I loved her competitiveness. I loved her attitude. She can come forward. She hits a great ball and moves really well, hustling and running down every ball.”
After Dagan Fruchtman’s match, Hamlin knew the call. Dagan Fruchtman embodied everything that NU preached on and off the tennis court. Extending her an offer was a no-brainer, “a big decision but an easy one,” she said.
Hamlin’s Nakhon Si Thammarat trip proved to be a resounding success. Halfway across the world from Evanston, Dagan Fruchtman began envisioning herself as a Wildcat.
“(Ellyse) gave me good advice, and I had a really good time with her,” she said. “I felt like she was a friend and the coach, not just a coach. She was trying really to get to know me, the way I play and the way I think.”
On June 12, while still in Nakhon Si Thammarat and four days after Hamlin left, Dagan Fruchtman verbally committed to play for the ’Cats.
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Nearly three years before Dagan Fruchtman committed to NU, Israel and the United Arab Emirates signed a historic normalization agreement in September 2020. It established formal relations between the nations, allowing for the exchange of ambassadors, tourism and commercial flights.
Growing up in Ra’anana, Israel, Dagan Fruchtman never envisioned being in the UAE. She had only seen Dubai’s bustling skyline in pictures, and traveling to the Emirates from Israel was nearly impossible. It wasn’t until August 2020 that the first commercial flight traveled from Tel Aviv to Abu Dhabi.
When December 2020 came around, then-17-year-old Dagan Fruchtman was in Dubai for the biggest tennis tournament of her career. In the process, she became the first Israeli tennis player to play in the UAE following the agreement.
Amid profound geopolitical changes between the countries, the Israel Tennis & Education Centers Foundation hoped for an Israeli to play tennis in the UAE. By speaking to organizers of a W100 tournament –– the highest-level ITF tournament classification –– in Dubai, they secured a wildcard for an Israeli player.
“It was either me, the younger player who might have a good future, or the No. 1 seed in the country,” Dagan Fruchtman said. “The manager of the Tennis Center decided to give it to me. He believed in me, so it was a really good feeling.”
Eleven years earlier, Israeli tennis legend and three-time Grand Slam doubles champion Andy Ram played an ATP tournament in Dubai. Ram’s experience was far from his normal tournament routine. He played under a false name without the Israeli flag next to his name on the court. He had constant security at his bulletproof hotel.
Ram joined Dagan Fruchtman on the trip to Dubai in 2020 and saw a world of differences in the UAE’s largest city. There were no false names, constant bodyguards or omissions of Israel’s flag.
“People ask where you’re from, and once you say you’re from Israel, it hits different,” Dagan Fruchtman said. “They were really respectful about it and loving. They didn’t judge us.”
Dagan Fruchtman’s opponent in the first round of qualifying retired late in the first set. Then, she advanced to the main draw with a decisive 7-5, 2-6, [10-8] victory.
Her run ended in the first round of the main draw with a 6-3, 6-1 loss, but Dagan Fruchtman’s week in Dubai became imprinted in Israeli sports history.
“It was more than tennis,” Dagan Fruchtman said. “It was a really, really special feeling. (People) were very welcoming and loving and giving, so I think it was one of the most special experiences that I had in my life.”
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For years, Dagan Fruchtman played matches with the Israeli flag next to her name, but she only represented herself on the court.
That changed when she was 15 years old. Between July 2018 and July 2019, she wore blue and white for Israel three times — twice in the 16 & Under European Summer Cup and once in the 16 & Under Tennis Europe Winter Cup.
“Representing my country and growing up here all my life, you’re getting to the best place you can get for me,” Dagan Fruchtman said. “Playing tennis for Israel, for my country, for the place that I’m from, and to be one of the best, it’s a really big feeling.”
Dagan Fruchtman picked up a tennis racket for the first time at seven years old. Then, she only saw tennis as a fun biweekly after-school activity with her friend and his father, never imagining the amount of time and effort she would devote to the sport.
Her talent was obvious, and her passion for the game soon ballooned. She became a force in Israel, winning the 16U national championship and capturing the 18U national championship twice. Her success in Israel led her to compete in youth European championships in the Czech Republic and Russia.
Dagan Fruchtman won 11 titles during her ITF juniors career. She hoisted trophies as close to home as Tel Aviv and as far as Chandigarh, India. In October 2022, she reached her first professional final in Cancún, Mexico.
“Tennis just got to my life in a surprise,” Dagan Fruchtman said. “I was doing track, a little surfing, a little basketball but no connection to tennis. My family didn’t have a clue about tennis. They didn’t see the Grand Slams or stuff like that.”
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As her professional career bloomed, Dagan Fruchtman found a new way to serve her country. In December 2021, she began her compulsory two-year Israel Defense Forces service.
Due to her success on the court, she was granted Outstanding Athlete status in the IDF. That limited her army service to a maximum of four to six hours per day in a non-combat role. She had up to 150 days per year to travel to compete in tennis tournaments, although she needed permission to do so.
“On my first day when I got to the army, (my commander) was like, ‘First of all, you are a soldier and then you are an athlete,’” Dagan Fruchtman said. “I was like, ‘You’re confused. You’re very confused. First of all, I’m an athlete, then I have a family, then I have friends, and then I’m a soldier.’”
Tennis and service became her life. She woke up early for 7 a.m. practice, worked for the military and subsequently returned to the courts for her second workout after her service.
Pollard’s staff recruited her while she was juggling the IDF and a professional tennis career. She committed to NU during her conscription.
“The army in Israel is not very helpful to get the best pro career,” Dagan Fruchtman said. “I feel like I didn’t have the chance to get to be the best version of a player. I feel like at Northwestern, I’m going to have a great team and great coaches. I have a great chance to get much, much better.”
Her inevitable return to representing Israel on the tennis court also came during her service. In 2022 and 2023, she represented Israel in the Billie Jean King Cup, the highest level of team tennis competition.
“You feel like you’ve made it,” she said. “That’s the best thing you have to represent your country. Just to play under a flag, not under your name, is a different feeling. You’re going to do the absolute best and anything you can just to win a match because it’s just more than tennis in those kinds of events.”
When Dagan Fruchtman takes the court for the ’Cats this fall, she will utilize lessons learned in international and professional play.
Looking forward, Pollard said she’s ecstatic to have Dagan Fruchtman on her squad, as she has high hopes for the freshman to enjoy a fruitful four-year career in Evanston.
“I hope we can help her become an NCAA qualifier,” Pollard said. “I think she’s going to help contribute and lead us to Big Ten titles … And I definitely think All-American is definitely attainable.”
Dagan Fruchtman’s service ended in December 2023. With four years of college tennis ahead of her, she looks forward to maximizing her opportunity. As she’s done throughout her athletic career, Dagan Fruchtman knows she’ll be a winner.
“My personality is a fighter on court,” Dagan Fruchtman said. “I don’t want to lose. I hate losing. I love winning, and I’m going to do my best to win. Even if I’m going to spill blood, I’m not going to retire.”
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