“I’ve grown not most from victories but from setbacks,” said Serena Williams, describing a valuable lesson she learned through her remarkable career. Despite her many titles, Williams faced devastating losses, injuries, and moments of doubt that ultimately shaped her resilience and determination. While she may have been reflecting on the challenges she faced throughout her professional tenure, this lesson is incredibly applicable to all levels of tennis, especially the Robinson Girls Team.
In September, just before their season began, the team was called into a spontaneous meeting, unaware of the abrupt change that awaited them; their coach got a job offer and was stepping away from the program. Following the meeting, fresh off the news of their coach’s resignation, another surprise followed: none of the senior captains would be returning. Left without leadership and experience, the program was set back to square one.
“When I heard the news, I wasn’t even sure if the season was projected to happen,” Ela Barna (‘28) said. “I mean, with no coach or seniors to be captains, it would be hard to figure the season out.”
After hiring a new coach in December and with the team not meeting her until the second semester, returning players took on the responsibility of rebuilding the program, with some stepping into leadership roles.
Being a captain doesn’t just mean getting the opportunity to boss people around- it means setting an example for novices on the team, organizing practices and maintaining a constant morale that reflects the whole team.
Transitioning from being just another player into guiding how everything runs is easier said than done, but Blaire Bowles (‘27), along with her co-captains Atrina Zahedi (‘27) and Autumn Lebron (‘27), led the way back to the team to finding its rhythm once again.
“I have to have a lot more confidence and leadership that now because I must be a mentor to players who want to learn and be able to create a positive environment where the players feel comfortable,” Bowles said.
Though many people consider tennis to be an individual sport, it’s actually heavily reliant on team support and encouragement from one another. Rather than allowing the staffing changes to fracture the already established team dynamics, the team embraced the change, adopting a growing mindset to contribute to a more comfortable atmosphere for all on the team.
“Since being on this team, I have learned that working together to figure things out and that trying new things may sometimes seem scary but overall turn out to be very exciting and rewarding experience,” Hannah Fakhri (’28) said.
Despite losing all of their seniors as well as their coach, the girls’ tennis team embraced the challenge and demonstrated an adaptive mindset. Though it’s only the beginning of their season, the program is poised to make the season one of their most memorable.
