The tennis player steps up to the line and takes a deep breath. She bounces the ball three times for good luck, then steps back with her right foot, drops the ball, and swings her racket towards the ball. As she brings her racket toward her outstretched left hand, the ball hits the racket with a satisfying thwack. She adjusts her high ponytail and red Fishers tennis visor and smiles as the ball hits her opponent’s side of the court.
The FHS tennis team is laid out into varsity and JV, with around eleven players in varsity and around 20 players in JV. In both divisions, the top three play singles, and the rest play doubles.
Tryouts began in the middle of March and determined whether players were in varsity or JV. Each following week, they play challenge matches at the end of the week to determine the order they play in the next week.
While tennis is a no-cut sport and everyone who tries out makes the team, many members have years of experience.
Senior Vasumathi Srinidhi has played tennis since eighth grade, when her parents introduced her to tennis.
“I also love watching tennis on TV, so my favorite idols are Serena Williams, Coco Gauff and Billy Jean King,” Srinidhi said. “I’ve just learned from them and wanted to continue tennis and be like them.”
The FHS tennis team has a very supportive environment, and the players enjoy practicing together every week.
Junior Ryan Bell has been playing tennis for nine years, and she likes spending time with her friends on the team.
“My favorite part about being on the team is just all the girls, all the friendships that you make, and I just love playing,” said Bell.
Every week during practice, the team plays practice games and performs several drills, such as queen of the court. One player is designated as the queen and plays against challengers who line up to take turns. If the challenger wins a point, they replace the queen. But if the queen wins, the next challenger steps up. It’s a fast-moving rotation game, so players move every two points to play different people.
Besides doing practice drills as a team, each player prepares for matches individually by taking care of themselves, whether getting a good night’s rest or stretching out muscles.
“To prep for a match, I stretch a lot,” said Bell. “I use a foam roller for my back too. Usually, I’m listening to music on the bus ride there if it’s an away match.”
Junior Abeer Khan, who has played for five years, prepares herself both physically and mentally for matches.
To get ready for tennis matches, Khan needs “a lot of hydration, and it’s a mental game, so also a lot of self-affirmation.”
Stretching and hydration help many players prepare for matches, which occur several times a week during the season.
Many players’ favorite match is the Mudsock tournament against HSE, where they play to support breast cancer.
“We play to support a very important cause, and that’s what makes this tournament very special,” said Srinidhi. “We also get to wear different uniforms for that day, so we also get new ribbons to wear, which I love, and everyone in that tent is always very supporting.”
Winning doesn’t mean everything to the tennis team — they also enjoy supporting worthy causes, such as breast cancer.
“You can support all kinds of cancers,” Khan adds, “depending on what shirt you wear.”
This season, the players all have different personal goals, including improving their winning streak, serve speed, and backhands.
“I want to hit more aces, so that’s one of my goals,” said Srinidhi. “I also want to have fun, because this is my last year on the team.”
An ace in tennis a serve that lands in the correct box and isn’t touched by the opponent, so the server wins the point.
While getting better at tennis is the ultimate goal, the team culture also emphasizes having fun and supporting teammates. After their own matches, players often stay until the end of a tournament to cheer on their team.
“I think our team culture is very lively and bubbly,” said Bell. “Everybody’s super nice, and if you just go up and talk to a girl, they’re going to strike up a conversation.”
The first tennis game of the 2025-2026 season is April 18th, 2026, at Homestead High School. Buy your tickets here!
