by Ayan Ajanaku
Special to the Tri-State Defender

The level of commitment and sacrifice required for most high school student athletes creates a marked difference between them and regular teens. Along with the required academic efforts, these students are required to attend practices, workouts and competitions – all with a winning spirit and heart for success.

For the junior tennis athlete, however, the difference between them and a normal student athlete is even greater. For starters, unlike most other high school sports, tennis has no off-season – it’s played year-round. Additionally, it operates in a system of tournaments that take its participants all across the nation and around the World.

Take Gabrielle Andrews of Pomona, Calif., for example. The 13-year-old tennis phenom can tell you all about the rigors of tennis travel and daily training.

“I travel a lot,” she said. “I play on average one tournament a month. I’ve been to England and France and I’m about to go to the Czech Republic to represent the USA in the World Junior Fed Cup Finals.”

Andrews is in Memphis this week for the United States Tennis Association (USTA)  Girls 18 National Clay Court Championships hosted by The Racquet Club. Although she’s a long way from her California, Gabrielle said that being in Memphis is like coming to her second home.

“(Memphis) is where my father was raised,” she said. “I usually stay in hotels but for the Clay Courts I’m staying over with my family. It’s really fun staying with them because I don’t see them that much, so any chance I get, I want to see them.”

Jasmine Minor, a 16-year-old Chicagoan who made it to the round of 16 agreed with Andrews that staying in a home-like environment is preferable.

“I usually stay at a hotel, but I have stayed with host families (who) are generally big fans of tennis. They come out and support me. It’s always fun, learning how to work with new people and to be respectful of different cultures. Eventually you learn to grow up a little bit.”   

Not only do the teen USTA tourney participants get to travel, they also get to meet and play with famous people. Last year, Skylar Morton, 16, traveled from her Bethesda, Md., home to the US Open, where she got to hit with pros Roger Federer, Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova and Andy Roddick.

This week, though, it’s all about competition and Morton and Andrews came ready to play. Both were still in the tournament at Tri-State Defender press time, garnering some much-deserved attention.

Morton wants people to know that the uniqueness of the game is what makes it  great and worth all the sacrifices.

“I think that people should know that tennis is one the toughest sports, but it is a sport that you can play for your entire life. It’s always fun to be out there on the court working on your game.”

The tournament concludes Sunday (July 25th).