Game, Set, Content: This George Mason student-athlete brings followers inside Division I tennis

For most student-athletes, the work happens behind the scenes. Early-morning lifts, long days of classes, hours on the court, and weekends spent traveling to competitions are rarely seen by anyone outside the team. For George Mason University women's tennis senior Cenan Liu, sharing that experience has become part of her story.

Through a growing social media presence, the Markham, Ontario, Canada native majoring in a business with a concentration in marketing and business analytics has built an audience by documenting the realities of Division I athletics-from practice sessions and match weekends to "What I Eat in a Day" (WIEIAD) videos and the challenges of balancing college, tennis, and content creation. What started as a creative hobby has evolved into a platform that connects with thousands of aspiring student-athletes while opening doors to opportunities with brands such as LEGO Canada and Audible.

"I started creating content during my freshman year of high school because I saw a girl who I knew post about getting free tennis shoes from social media, and I figured if she could do it, I could too," Liu said. "I built a very engaged tennis community, and I would post about my training, tennis videos, etc."

While tennis was the foundation of her content, the COVID-19 pandemic helped shape her platform's direction. "During a time where everybody was online, it was hard to feel connected to my peers and fellow creators," Liu said. "I started to explore different niches including fashion and tech, before ultimately falling in love with watching 'What I Eat in a Day' videos, leading to my transition to creating WIEIAD videos in college."

During that time, Liu found inspiration in creators who shared their experiences as college athletes. "I really resonated with college athletes, specifically Kaila Novak, who shared her D1 life at UCLA as a soccer player," Liu said. "She really inspired me to film those same videos I enjoyed watching so much."

Watching creators document their daily lives helped Liu realize that some of the most compelling content wasn't centered on results or accomplishments, but on the experiences that came with being a student-athlete.

Tennis naturally became the foundation of her content. "Whether I want it to or not, tennis is a huge part of my life and always will be," she said. "I think it's super important for me to create content about tennis because I personally think there is a lack of college content out there about a lot of the stuff I talk about, whether it's about recruiting, college food, tournament experiences, etc."

Her content isn't just highlights; it's the honest middle ground of being a student-athlete. "Our spring season is incredibly busy, with constant travel, training, and competition, and I enjoy bringing my audience along for that journey through vlogs and behind-the-scenes content," Liu said. "I love being able to show them what college tennis actually looks like beyond the highlights they see online."

Content creation quickly became more than a hobby-it became a creative outlet and a career. "Content creation is the best way for me to funnel my creative ideas into videos that hopefully resonate with my audience," Liu said. "During tennis practice, lift, and classes, I don't feel like I get the opportunity to be as hands-on and as creative as I can when I create content."

That creativity opened doors she never expected, including commercial shoots with major brands. "A casting producer reached out to me via email saying she found me through YouTube Shorts, and they needed a tennis player for an Audible commercial," she said. "They flew me out to LA, and I stayed there for two days before taking a redeye flight to land back in Washington at 7 a.m. to compete in a tournament the same day!"

Another moment that stands out came with LEGO Canada. "They needed a tennis player in Toronto for a video shoot," Liu said. "It was an insane full-circle experience because the commercial was filmed at my childhood tennis club. Getting to go back after so many years brought back so many memories of when I was a junior player, and I had no idea the next time I was back, I'd be filming a LEGO commercial."

Despite the growing opportunities, Liu's content remains grounded in the experiences that first connected her with her audience.

"Being a college athlete is a major part of my identity, and a lot of my content revolves around sharing the realities of student-athlete life," Liu said, "whether that's balancing classes and practices, traveling for matches, managing a busy schedule, or navigating the highs and lows that come with competing at a high level."

Beyond documenting her own experiences, Liu sees her platform as a way to help others better understand what college athletics is really like. "I also think it's interesting for students at other schools to get a glimpse into what life at George Mason is really like, both academically and athletically," Liu said. "At the same time, a large portion of my audience consists of high school students who are interested in playing college sports, so I love being able to show them what college tennis actually looks like beyond the highlights they see online."

Liu hopes her content offers a glimpse of the student-athlete experience. "I hope my content gives people a more realistic understanding of the student-athlete experience while helping them feel inspired and connected to the journey." she said.

Liu's message is simple but powerful: Show up and be yourself. "The most important piece of advice that you've probably heard a bajillion times is to be consistent with your posting," she said. "Authenticity is also really important and that's something that I try to really focus on because it's something that I believe you can genuinely feel through the screen, whether somebody is genuine or not."

As she continues competing for the Patriots and growing her platform, Liu remains focused on telling stories that resonate with people. By sharing the realities of student-athlete life, she's created more than content-she's built a community.