James Keivom for The New York Times
One recent morning, Jack Ming Jie Lin, a Columbia University tennis player, informed his chemistry professor that he needed to reschedule Tuesday night’s lab because he had another engagement.
“Look,” he said he told his professor, “I have a very important match Feb. 12 and I understand that we’re supposed to have lab session that Tuesday night, but unfortunately, I can’t make it that night.”
Instead of chemistry class, Lin, a 19-year-old sophomore, will be playing his first ATP Tour main-draw match, at the New York Open at Nassau Coliseum.