Photo Credits: Anika Upadhyay
The Washington High School girls’ tennis team has been preparing hard this season, facing challenges both on and off the court. Players shared how they prepare for matches, the obstacles they’ve overcome and the lessons tennis has taught them
Elsie Lee explained the importance of warm-ups before every match. “Warm ups include leg stretches to prepare our legs and so we don’t get any cramps for our games,” she says. “We also do warm up laps.” Aarna Sripada added that her warm-up routine usually stays simple. “I try to warm up often and when it is usually just basic stretches,” she states.
When asked about her biggest challenge when playing, Lee said the mental side of tennis has been the hardest part: “My biggest challenge while playing tennis is playing singles and dealing with mental health. I overcame that with the support of my friends and my family, coming to the acceptance with whatever happens on the court, and being happy with how I played.” Aarna agreed that coincidence is key. “My biggest challenge was probably my mental game and thinking I’m not good enough,” she said. “To overcome it I worked on being the player I wanted to be. So I put in more time and effort into tennis and I worked on improving, and I also worked on realizing that not everything will go my way all the time.”
Elsie shared the problems that held her back early on in her tennis journey: “What held me back was being scared on the court and not playing to my full potential, but I overcame that by playing very loosely and very free on the court, and being ready to run for every ball. By loosely, I mean not being worried if the ball’s gonna go out, and just trusting my swing and swinging fast.”
For Aarna, outside opinions were the hardest to ignore. “Something that held me back was also caring about what other people thought about me and how I played,” she said. “To overcome it I helped myself realize that I can’t control what other people think but just my own actions.”
Both players emphasized the lessons tennis has taught them beyond the scoreboard. “My biggest tip for playing tennis is to not give up after one point. It’s to keep playing the match because there’s many more points to be played, and it’s not going to be the only match you’re going to play,” Elsie said. Aarna added, “I probably would tell people to not put too much pressure on themselves and actually enjoy what you’re doing, because if you don’t enjoy what you’re doing then you aren’t going to improve and have fun while playing the sport.”
The Washington High School girl’s tennis team continues to show resilience, teamwork, and passion. They are constantly proving that the lessons they learn on the court are far beyond the game itself.