On the court, University of North Carolina senior Reese Brantmeier is battling to make it to the women’s doubles final at the U.S. Open. 

Off of it, she’s in the middle of a fight that will impact all collegiate tennis players. 

Brantmeier, along with fellow Tar Heel Alanis Hamilton, defeated Thea Frodin and Kristina Penickova in the first round of the doubles tournament, but a majority of her post-match media session centered around her fight to change NCAA rules. 

The UNC senior is in the middle of a class action lawsuit against the NCAA to change what Brantmeier described as an “out-of-date” rule that stipulates athletes can only keep up to $10,000 in prize money per calendar year prior to enrollment when competing in professional-level tournaments. 

After that, they are only allowed to keep earnings that cover “actual and necessary expenses.” 

“I’ve been personally affected by it, but I also have seen so many people turn away the opportunity of college and college tennis because of this rule,” Brantmeier said. “It’s actively hurting players while they’re in college, and it’s turning people away from college tennis.

“That’s a shame to see and I think that if I didn’t step up and do it, someone was gonna do it a couple years down the line. But the longer this rule is in place, the more it hurts collegiate players, so happy to step up and do it.” 

Brantmeier and Hamilton would earn $22,500 each if their team loses in the next round — with the champions earning $500,000 each.

Brantmeier had been ineligible for her freshman season due to the rule and a dispute with the NCAA over whether her U.S. Open expenses had fallen under the needed criteria. 

The now-20-year-old had won nearly $50,000 during the 2021 U.S. Open — but in order to maintain college eligibility, she had to forfeit a large portion of the money, and the NCAA challenged expenses Brantmeier claimed during the tournament. 

The issue was finally resolved when she made a charitable donation, and the NCAA allowed her to compete during the 2023 season. 

She sees the rule as one that is putting younger tennis players in an unfair position. 

“There’s a lot of young people who get opportunities – especially at events like slams – where you make significant prize money. Especially when you’re young, you’re 14, you’re 16, it’s really hard to look at a paycheck like that and make a long-term decision about an education,” she said. “I think that if people were able to keep their prize money before entering college and make an informed decision for themselves when they’re, you know, 17, 18 and actually enroll versus having to guess at 14 if I think I wanna leave this door open, I have to continuously turn down money for the next four years.

“That’s just a brutal spot to be in and I think people if this rule was gone, could make a much more informed decision about college. And I think it would raise the level of college tennis.” 

NIL has made the conversation surrounding the rule even more interesting, though Brantmeier said the influx of NIL money hasn’t quite hit college tennis yet, though “I’d love to see that change.”

Brantmeier wasn’t sure how long the legal case would take, but made it clear she’s not backing down.

“I’m definitely in it for as long as it takes,” she said. 

Brantmeier and Hamilton will play their second round match on Saturday afternoon.