Angie Vavalle is a varsity tennis player at Grant Community High School. Vavalle’s tennis story begins when she was just three years old, when she would watch her older sister from the side of the courts. Growing up, playing the same sport as her sister had its ups and downs, Angie recalls.
“We were always compared to each other, but when we got to play together my sophomore year, that was super fun.”
Watching pro players gave her that push to work even harder. Valvalle takes inspiration from Serena Williams and Roger Federer. Williams revolutionized women’s tennis with her powerful playing style and winning more grand slam singles titles than any other female player. Federer, a well-known Swiss tennis player, known for his astounding performance in the 21st century, won many titles including 8 Wimbledon titles. Angie admires these players because “They are some of the best players in the world”.
Over the years of playing tennis Angie has received many different lessons and tips. She speaks highly of good sportsmanship and helping people in need. She always makes sure other players feel welcome and comfortable. She values the idea of etiquette by always being kind to others and never having a poor attitude on the court.
“I feel like, no matter what happens, you’re always there for each other. If someone’s down, helping them feel better, can make the whole team have more spirit”.
While COVID-19 took a toll on everybody, with the help of her teammates pushing her to be her best, Angie was resilient and never gave up. She was able to win many of her future matches. One of her favorite memories of playing tennis at Grant was making it to state and winning the conference her sophomore year. Last year, her team won the “Spirit of the Northwest”. Her role models here at Grant are her doubles partner from sophomore year and her sister.
“They both made it to state together when I was on varsity as a freshman, so watching them accomplish that was inspiring. They’ve helped me with hitting certain shots that now come to me with ease and help me get easy points. Watching them play made me a better player.”
Whether Angie is on or off the court, she enjoys training with coach Boton and is always learning new ways to improve and make herself a better player. Angie wishes to be the best she can be and hopefully train others to do the same.
