If you walk towards the senior lot on a crisp autumn afternoon, you might spot senior Abby Rappaport, junior Minori Saito, and sophomore Lena Anderson playing their hearts out on the tennis courts.
All three girls play singles on the women’s tennis team, the top three spots in the varsity line-up. Saito plays first singles, Rappaport plays second singles, and Anderson plays third singles. The singles players are followed by four varsity doubles teams, and the team itself is coached by Biology Teacher Mr. Andrew Perella.
Playing singles consists of a single player competing against another player in the best of three sets. Nonetheless, all three girls have been training to be at this level for many years.
“I’ve been playing tennis my whole life. My dad has been my coach since I was five, so I’ve been playing for a really long time,” Saito said.
Rappaport agrees that claiming her spot as a singles player came with a lot of hard work and preparation, even before she was on the high school team.
“I started playing tennis when I was seven. Things started to turn when, freshman year, I really wanted to play singles. That’s when I realized that I had to work hard for it, and that’s when I started taking it seriously,” Rappaport said.
Being a varsity and well-rounded tennis player comes with a lot of practice for the girls, both at the Strath Haven courts and outside of school.
All three girls play several times a week, which can sometimes be difficult when balancing schedules.
“I practice six to seven times a week unless I’m really busy. I practice at Rose Valley pool, which has really nice courts,” Saito said.
With this spot on the team comes a lot of pressure and responsibility. Anderson notes the importance of handling the pressure that comes with playing alone on the court.
“I didn’t start competitively playing until I was ten…You can’t get in your head too much. I think that your biggest enemy on the court is yourself and your mind, so it’s just important to stay focused and not let the bad points get to you,” Anderson said.
Rappaport finds that the pressure puts her in a place of control of her match and that the support of her teammates helps her to stay grounded.
“I know that playing singles, it’s just you on the court, and you’re responsible for that match,” Rappaport said. “Sometimes I do like having my own responsibility, but it’s sometimes so supporting to have all of my friends cheering me on.”
While being a singles player takes a lot of dedication and commitment, all three girls agree that the women’s tennis team has a special bond.
“I like being on the tennis team because there are people in every grade, so you can get a lot of advice from the different girls,” Anderson said. “Everyone is really nice, and we all work together and lift each other up in our matches.”
In particular, Rappaport appreciates the friendship she has formed with her fellow singles teammates and contributes it to her demeanor during her matches.
“Especially the three singles girls, we all have a little bond. We try to put our bags close to each other on the court so we can see each other in between games, and we’ll hype each other up,” Rapaport said.
Even though the tennis team in particular has a strong bond, Saito believes that joining any team is a great opportunity to form friendships in high school.
“If you’re new to the school, being on a sports team is a great way to make friends because you’re connected by a common thing already and it’s so easy to connect with other people on the team,” Saito said.
The dedication of these three players and all of the women’s tennis team is consistently present, and their coach Mr. Perella recognizes this commitment.
“They’re great singles players. You can tell that they work hard during the season and off the season. They represent their teammates and their school impressively,” Perella said.
Saito placed third and Rappaport placed sixth at Central League Singles on September 20, qualifiying them for District 1 Playoffs on September 26.
Reporter is on the tennis team.
