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From Denmark to Salt Lake City: Emma Kamper’s Path to Utah Tennis
10/28/2025 10:25 AM | Women's Tennis
Utes junior has come a long way from her hometown to make waves in the collegiate tennis world
SALT LAKE CITY — University of Utah junior Emma Kamper has come a long way from her hometown of Vejle, Denmark to make waves in the collegiate tennis world.
This past September, Kamper made a deep run at the International Tennis Association All-American Tournament in Cary, N.C. where she won her first five matches in the qualifying round (including a win against the No.3 seed Caroline Driscoll from Stanford) to advance to the main draw. In the Round of 64, Kamper knocked off the No.8 seed Theadora Rabman from the University of North Carolina.
Kamper's hot streak continued into last weekend at the ITA Mountain Regional Championships, entering the weekend as the No.1 seed.
The Utah junior won her first five matches in the tournament, including wins over the No.3 and No.9 seeds, to reach the finals. With her performance at the ITA Mountain Regional Championships, Kamper punched her ticket to the NCAA Individual Championships this November.
Kamper's success during the fall slate has not been a surprise once the hours of work and dedication she has put in is understood. To fully grasp this, we must go back to Kamper's tennis beginnings in Denmark.
"So, I actually started by playing soccer my whole life and I got injured," said Kamper. "I made the switch over and just realized that I was actually pretty good at tennis, so I just kept going with it."
Like many other European countries, soccer is the main sport in Denmark, making tennis an afterthought for many Danish citizens, and forcing Kamper to find ways to train and compete.
"I grew up in an area where there's not that much tennis," said Kamper. "In order to get to a relatively high-level training, I had to drive an hour to and from practice. Denmark is a really small country, and tennis is not the biggest sport. So, we traveled to other countries to play when I was in juniors."
Making the switch to tennis was no easy task since many tennis players pick up the sport when they are four or five years old. For Kamper, starting tennis late was a challenge, but her family kept her focused and guided her along the way.
"They've supported me so much, driving me to practice at 4 a.m., taking me everywhere and traveling so that I could play tournaments," said Kamper. "They've helped me so much, and without their support, there's no way that I could be in college playing tennis."
Kamper had a very successful career in juniors where she quickly emerged as one of the top players in Denmark. Kamper was her regional singles and doubles champion, earning her a spot in the top five national rankings. Kamper was not only nationally ranked, but ranked in the top 500 globally. As her juniors career came to a close, Kamper knew that she wanted to come to America to play college tennis.
"I knew that some other girls made YouTube videos of themselves playing," said Kamper. "So, I made one of those videos, and I just emailed it to a bunch of coaches."
After reaching out to many college coaches, Kamper was discovered by the Utes.
"The head coach at the time, he reached out to me, and we kind of just started talking," said Kamper. "He ended up coming to Denmark and watching me play, and kind of see if there was some chemistry there and if we could see each other working together. I came on a visit here a little bit later, and everything just felt right."
Kamper officially moved to Salt Lake City in the fall of 2023, and coming from Denmark was a big transition. Having to balance academics and athletics, while being 5,000 miles away from home was difficult, but Kamper always fell back on her love for tennis to keep pushing her forward.
"I think for me, just knowing I'm here for tennis, and I could spend a lot of hours on court, training and seeing progress, that made it easier for sure," said Kamper.
In her first year, Kamper recorded a 14-8 overall singles record while being named an ITA Scholar Athlete. She followed that performance up with an even better sophomore campaign, where she finished 22-13 overall in singles and was named to the Big 12 All-Conference Second Team.
Now entering her junior year, Kamper believes an elevated mental approach will help her on the court.
"I feel a lot more at peace and balanced," remarked Kamper. "I think in the beginning, my level wasn't as high. A lot has happened since then, I just feel like I have this calmness inside, and belief that I should be on the court and that I know what I'm capable of."
As a team, Kamper believes the Utes have what it takes to make it to the NCAA Championships in May, and individually, she intends to keep getting better to hopefully make it to the biggest stage in tennis one day.
"I hope that I can represent my country in the near future," she said. "When I graduate, I'm planning to play pro, see where that goes and hopefully make it to a Grand Slam one day."
Kamper's journey has been a long one from the first time she picked up a racket in Denmark, but through all the tiresome days, and traveling around Europe she has found an unexpected second home in Salt Lake City where she hopes to leave a lasting mark on Utah Tennis.
This past September, Kamper made a deep run at the International Tennis Association All-American Tournament in Cary, N.C. where she won her first five matches in the qualifying round (including a win against the No.3 seed Caroline Driscoll from Stanford) to advance to the main draw. In the Round of 64, Kamper knocked off the No.8 seed Theadora Rabman from the University of North Carolina.
Kamper's hot streak continued into last weekend at the ITA Mountain Regional Championships, entering the weekend as the No.1 seed.
The Utah junior won her first five matches in the tournament, including wins over the No.3 and No.9 seeds, to reach the finals. With her performance at the ITA Mountain Regional Championships, Kamper punched her ticket to the NCAA Individual Championships this November.
Kamper's success during the fall slate has not been a surprise once the hours of work and dedication she has put in is understood. To fully grasp this, we must go back to Kamper's tennis beginnings in Denmark.
"So, I actually started by playing soccer my whole life and I got injured," said Kamper. "I made the switch over and just realized that I was actually pretty good at tennis, so I just kept going with it."
Like many other European countries, soccer is the main sport in Denmark, making tennis an afterthought for many Danish citizens, and forcing Kamper to find ways to train and compete.
"I grew up in an area where there's not that much tennis," said Kamper. "In order to get to a relatively high-level training, I had to drive an hour to and from practice. Denmark is a really small country, and tennis is not the biggest sport. So, we traveled to other countries to play when I was in juniors."
Making the switch to tennis was no easy task since many tennis players pick up the sport when they are four or five years old. For Kamper, starting tennis late was a challenge, but her family kept her focused and guided her along the way.
"They've supported me so much, driving me to practice at 4 a.m., taking me everywhere and traveling so that I could play tournaments," said Kamper. "They've helped me so much, and without their support, there's no way that I could be in college playing tennis."
Kamper had a very successful career in juniors where she quickly emerged as one of the top players in Denmark. Kamper was her regional singles and doubles champion, earning her a spot in the top five national rankings. Kamper was not only nationally ranked, but ranked in the top 500 globally. As her juniors career came to a close, Kamper knew that she wanted to come to America to play college tennis.
"I knew that some other girls made YouTube videos of themselves playing," said Kamper. "So, I made one of those videos, and I just emailed it to a bunch of coaches."
After reaching out to many college coaches, Kamper was discovered by the Utes.
"The head coach at the time, he reached out to me, and we kind of just started talking," said Kamper. "He ended up coming to Denmark and watching me play, and kind of see if there was some chemistry there and if we could see each other working together. I came on a visit here a little bit later, and everything just felt right."
Kamper officially moved to Salt Lake City in the fall of 2023, and coming from Denmark was a big transition. Having to balance academics and athletics, while being 5,000 miles away from home was difficult, but Kamper always fell back on her love for tennis to keep pushing her forward.
"I think for me, just knowing I'm here for tennis, and I could spend a lot of hours on court, training and seeing progress, that made it easier for sure," said Kamper.
In her first year, Kamper recorded a 14-8 overall singles record while being named an ITA Scholar Athlete. She followed that performance up with an even better sophomore campaign, where she finished 22-13 overall in singles and was named to the Big 12 All-Conference Second Team.
Now entering her junior year, Kamper believes an elevated mental approach will help her on the court.
"I feel a lot more at peace and balanced," remarked Kamper. "I think in the beginning, my level wasn't as high. A lot has happened since then, I just feel like I have this calmness inside, and belief that I should be on the court and that I know what I'm capable of."
As a team, Kamper believes the Utes have what it takes to make it to the NCAA Championships in May, and individually, she intends to keep getting better to hopefully make it to the biggest stage in tennis one day.
"I hope that I can represent my country in the near future," she said. "When I graduate, I'm planning to play pro, see where that goes and hopefully make it to a Grand Slam one day."
Kamper's journey has been a long one from the first time she picked up a racket in Denmark, but through all the tiresome days, and traveling around Europe she has found an unexpected second home in Salt Lake City where she hopes to leave a lasting mark on Utah Tennis.
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