This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity. 

Q: What inspired you to return to tennis this year after taking a break last season?

A: Being away from tennis for a long period of time is what inspired me to come back to the high school team this year. After I decided not to play during my junior year, I started to slowly hate tennis. It became a chore for me to do, and I felt miserable every time I stepped on the court. When I joined the track team during 2nd semester, I would go 7-8 weeks without playing tennis. At first, it was a relief to have a break. I was able to focus on other aspects of my life such as my family, my friends, and my hobbies. Once track season wrapped up in May, I found myself itching to get back on court. Having that drive was what ultimately led me to come back for the season this year because I knew if I didn’t play for my senior year, I would regret it for the rest of my life.

Q: What challenges did you face in your return to the sport, and how did you overcome them?

A: Tennis is a mental sport, and the mental aspect of it has always been a challenge for me. When I was 100% sure I was returning to the team this year, I had an overwhelming feeling of pressure to do well. However, not a lot of people knew how long I’d taken a break from tennis for. I worked a lot throughout the summer and every time I wasn’t on court training, there were thoughts in the back of my mind about how I wasn’t going to be good enough. Having this kind of mentality is the exact opposite of what I needed going into the season, but my sister and my coach were people I went to when I felt overwhelmed with stress and nerves. My sister has always been someone I looked up to in the sports world because of her incredible talent and success she has had in softball. I have always admired the way she believed in herself and the confidence she had when going into her games. Before she left for college, we talked about my mentality about returning to tennis and she always reminded me that there was no pressure on me and that tennis is something I had always enjoyed doing. My coach has been there for me since I was 12, when he first met me. He has been my number one supporter, even in times when I didn’t believe in myself. From the second I decided to come back, he knew I was worried about it and made sure to keep me at ease about the whole situation. Every time we talked about it, he would check in on me and remind me of how exciting it was that I was coming back. Having this support from two of my closest people is what allowed me to overcome the mental struggles I had with returning to tennis.

Q: Who were the key people in your support system that helped you during your comeback?

A: The key people who helped me during my comeback to tennis were my family and my coach. My family and my coach knew how difficult my relationship with tennis had been throughout my junior year, but they never pressured me to feel like I needed to come back for the high school season. Both my family and my coach made me very aware of the fact that they supported me with whatever I ended up choosing. Their biggest concern with the original possibility of me coming back to tennis was that they wanted me to enjoy it, and not be miserable when I stepped on court. Having their support throughout the process of coming back was vital, and I will be forever grateful for all the help they provided me.

Q: What were your goals for this season, and how did you feel about achieving a spot at state?

A: My main goal for this season was to have fun, which sounds pretty easy. However, tennis had become something I hated doing for a long period. Coming back was not an easy decision because of the struggles I explained above, so I knew that I wanted to focus on enjoying my time since it was my last year on the team. Achieving a spot at state was such a bittersweet moment for me, as it was the last time I would be going to state (obviously I was still thrilled). I was beyond excited, especially since I had a ton of nerves the week going into sectionals. I had recently come off of a pretty tough loss at the conference tournament the week prior, so being able to turn things around was something I was proud of.

Q: What was it like competing at the state level, and how did it compare to your previous experiences in tennis?

A: Competing at the state level is no different than competing at a tiny tournament with barely any participants. I say that because it’s not supposed to be about the location, the number of players, or the popularity of the tournament, but instead, it should be about how you feel going into it. If you are in a good place mentally and physically, playing a match at state becomes no different than playing a random match on a Tuesday night. When thinking about my previous experiences in tennis, this year at State was completely different than my past few years of playing. I went into State with confidence and a strong mentality, which was something I never really did up until sectionals the week before. I have always struggled with believing in my abilities on the court, so going into State with a positive and confident mindset is what changed everything for me.

This season impacted me personally on the court because it gave me the confidence I dreamed of having since I was six years old. Being able to play some of the best matches of my tennis career within the last two weeks of my season gave me an overwhelming sense of pride and assurance in my game, as all of my tough losses paid off in the end. I was impacted off the court because of how differently I viewed tennis after my season was officially over. My relationship with tennis had finally been healed, after multiple years of losing motivation for it. Being able to take a step back and realize how far I had come in the past few months was eye-opening for me, and it made me realize how much appreciation I have for tennis. Although I have had some rough patches with the sport throughout my life, it has always been there for me in my lowest moments and I overlooked that for such a long period. My senior season will forever be engraved in my memory, as it made me realize just how much I had missed being out on the court.