Kiana Graham: It’s in her DNA

The Graham family has accomplished many athletic feats that only some can dream of, and they continue to write their name into the history books.   

Kiana Graham was one of the newest additions to this season’s tennis roster and has found her way playing at the top spot. High achievements are nothing new for Kiana and her family. 

Winthrop Graham, Kiana’s father, had a collegiate career at the University of Texas and represented Jamaica in the Olympics. He is a two-time Olympic silver medalist in the 400 meter hurdles and a two-time World Championship medalist. Kiana’s mother, Yvonne Graham also competed in track and field and was a 1989 bronze medalist in the 1500 meters at the World Indoor Championships in Budapest and at the 1989 World Cup. 

Kiana is the second youngest of four children. Her older brother Aikan was on the Texas A&M Track and Field team from 2011-16. Nakia, Kiana’s older sister played soccer for Texas from 2015-18 and younger sister Kinaa has signed to play tennis for LSU. 

“My parents introduced sports to all of us at a pretty early age,” Kiana said. “I started with soccer and track, but then my older sister tried tennis and ended up not liking it, but I did. I was playing soccer and tennis at the time and decided to drop soccer to pursue tennis.”  

Yvonne and Winthrop Graham never pressured their children to follow in their steps of track, they wanted them to find a sport they liked. 

One of the aspects that drew Kiana to the courts over the pitch was that tennis was an individual sport, but also a team sport. She started playing in tournaments at the Great Hills Country Club in Austin and was able to build her ranking from there.  

Even though Kiana lost her first match, her love for the game evolved, “I just enjoy competing and get an adrenaline rush. I like that I can play the sport that I love while also having my competitive side stimulated.”

Texas State tennis head coach Kendall Brooks quickly saw this side of Kiana, “I think she is naturally competitive, it is in her DNA. She is a winner, and she has won a lot. Every time she goes out on the court, I believe she wants to win and is willing to do whatever it takes to get it done. She’s not going to go away and she’s not going to quit, and I think her opponents feel this as well.”

While Kiana’s parents did not know much about tennis, they found that the sport had many opportunities that came with it including scholarships and the ability to get easily recognized as an individual rather than in a team setting. Soon after, Kiana was showing her sister Kinaa the world of tennis and the sport stuck with her as well. 

Growing up in a family of Olympians and collegiate athletes can put pressure on how individuals perform, something that was not obvious to Kiana at first. 

“I am really competitive and want to win so I do think that pressure did play a part in that,” Kiana explained. “I did feel that I had an obligation to be pretty good at my sport, whatever I chose. I think that did add some pressure and it made me really hard on myself.” 

Being genuinely passionate about tennis helped Kiana settle into playing the sport and having fun over winning, which took the pressure off her shoulders. 

Transferring to Texas State from SMU allowed Kiana to be closer to her family and have them at her matches more. 

“I love the support,” Kiana said. “I really like when my dad comes to the matches. When I was younger I didn’t really like it, but now that I am in college it is more fun. My dad enjoys getting to come out and watch people play tennis.”

Since being one of the newest additions to the Bobcat lineup, Kiana has added depth and takes on the toughest matches on the top court. 

“Kiana can just about run down any ball and stay out there all day long,” Brooks said. “A lot of shots that people think are going to be a winner, she ends up getting back because she is very good at playing defense. We have a joke on the team that if her opponent puts their hands on their knees at any time, it’s over.”

“She can outlast anyone, and I think that gives her confidence in long points and long matches,” said Brooks.