Not only a stellar student, Jean Chen also showcases her athletic ability on the tennis court. Requiring endurance and agility, tennis is a tough sport that demands much from its athletes. Now a senior, Jean has been playing tennis for over six years but only started getting “more serious around seventh grade.”

Wins and losses come from anything we do, and it definitely becomes difficult sometimes to stay motivated and persevere in the midst of struggles and setbacks. Jean claims that her teammates and friends that she has made from previous competitions push her to continue playing tennis.

She truly “enjoys tennis as a sport and that in itself serves as [her] main motivation.”

Many student-athletes run into the issue of managing their busy schedules, trying to balance practice times and time allotted for studying and schoolwork. However, Jean finds this matter “manageable as long as you prepare ahead of time.” She always makes sure to “have a portable charger, enough scratch paper, and all [her] homework with [her] at all times so [she] can squeeze in as much work as possible in between games and practices.”

Speaking on her highlights as a tennis player, Jean said, “Taking the CIF States Champion title with our varsity tennis team my sophomore year is definitely the highlight of my high-school tennis experience.”

However, “The most memorable achievement and one I am most proud of was placing fourth place at nationals in the 18s and under division with my junior team tennis (JTT) in 2017!”

Thankfully, Jean hasn’t had any serious injuries from tennis aside from blisters now and then and a couple of sprained ankles across the years.

Jean said, “I found that taking time everyday to focus on stretching has worked wonders in keeping me from unnecessary injuries.”

High intensity sports such as gymnastics and weightlifting are not recommended for the elderly and people with fragile joints and weaker muscles and can be very dangerous if they even attempt to do them. However, tennis does not fit into this category and is a sport that includes people of all ages, abilities, from beginner to advanced levels.

Jean said that she aspires “to be a hip 80 year-old tennis fanatic who enjoys tennis as a lifelong sport…it’d be really cool to play tennis recreationally as an adult and beyond!’’

Jean plans to continue playing club tennis through college, and is excited for all that lies ahead of her in her tennis career.

Photo courtesy of Jean Chen