As many know, the spring sports season has begun, and teams are practicing for their games, meets, and matches. There are a lot of students who try out for the tennis team every year, and now the girls’ and boys’ teams have been solidified.
Senior Reese Williams is out at practice with junior Sylvia Hayes.
“I think it’s a great mix of veteran leadership and new faces. I do think they are strong; [however], I think it’ll be similar to past years,” said Girls’ Tennis Coach John Murray. “I got a good group this year. We have a very close knit group of guys. Some guys probably have more experience than the other half,” added Boys’ Tennis Coach Joe Ramirez.
Prior to try-outs, most sports have some conditioning, but Tennis has not been able to.
“The biggest problem has always been [that the girls’ physicals] run out by June. When it comes to season time, their physicals are invalid,” said Murray. “[It] used to be from May 1st till June 30th. Now it’s valid until the day they took it, to 14 months [later]; it was a school system change.”
In Virginia, there is a new sport’s physical form that has been used as of July 1st 2025, according to CHKD’s blog. Nevertheless, the physical form is not the only reason for a lack of conditioning.
“[There is] not really any preconditioning. Partly because of the weather, it doesn’t work for us,” said Ramirez.
Even so, many experienced players find time to condition prior to the season individually.
“I mean, I came out here and played tennis,” said Boys’ Team Captain Xavier Lyles. “I ran every day, about a mile, to get my endurance up.”
Many of the senior players already had their heads in the game prior to the season. Specifically, the veteran leadership from captains Sienna Vera Cruz, Xavier Lyles, and John Diwa also have thoughts about this year’s team.
“So far, it’s going great. We have a good group of girls this year. I’m really excited to see how we do against other schools this year,” said Girls’ Team Captain Sienna Vera Cruz. “I think the season so far is good. We have a lot of new players. I think the kids here we have are talented and can get better [in the coming months],” added Lyles.
Girls’ Captain Sienna Vera Cruz helps out Boys’ Captain John Diwa practice his returns.
The coaches and captains wanted to share some of their advice for improving at tennis for the team:
- “I think [it’s] difficult sometimes when they reach a bad point to not let that linger,” said Murray. “To me, what makes the best athletes in the world so good is moving on to the next point. That is what separates the elite players from the rest.”
- “I don’t know, just keep going at it,” said Vera Cruz. “If you are really working hard at something, there will come a day when your hard work pays off.”
- “They just need to keep that understanding that doing all the practice means they will do well in a match,” said Ramirez
- “That when you are on the court, you have to stay positive,” said Lyles. “A lot of tennis is mental.”
- “Tennis is a mental sport; you need to leave the bad points in the past and work on the present,” said Diwa.
Tennis is popular for its rigor and requires an athlete’s time, effort, and mentality. Hopefully, the 2026 season goes great, waving goodbye to its senior players and introducing new players to grow.
