When the bell rings after school, lots of students head to the job they just got employed at or a friend’s house to do some “studying”. But Summit junior, Stella Williams, hits the tennis court five days a week as her after-school activity.  

Williams’ started playing tennis at a young age with not much intent, other than to have fun. But her passion for it grew larger as her skills developed along with her age.

“I would always do the summer camps as a kid, but I was never that into it until around seventh grade, which was when I started to play more seriously,” Williams said.

The independence aspect is what truly drew Williams to the sport.

“Every point is up to me and how I play determines how the match goes,” Williams said.

One of Williams’ close friends on the tennis team happens to be a senior. To make the best of Williams’ time with her, she decided to play doubles this year, instead of singles.

“Even though it’s not a team sport, we try to get as much of a team aspect to it as we can,” Williams said.

On a match day, the players braid each other’s hair, warm-up, try to get the nerves out, and leave it all out on the court.

Something that sets Williams aside from other tennis players is her dedication and commitment to the sport. She tries to practice when no one else is and gets reps in when she can. According to Williams, not many players have tennis as their number one sport, so it was fun to adapt it as hers.

“Even when no one can hit, I still practice my serve when no one else is available.”

Williams’ tennis coach, Quinn McAndrews, describes her as a hard-working, dedicated player and leader. 

“Stella is everything you want in a tennis player as a coach. She always wants one more rep and one more point and is always striving to get better,” McAndrews said, “She is always one of the last players to leave a match after cheering for all of her teammates.”

Although Williams enjoys playing the sport, she is not planning on playing in college but she does want to continue with a tennis club. Summit girls tennis matches go until early May if you want to see Williams in action.