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This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Tampa chapter.

I started playing tennis when I was three years old. I loved the sport so much. I got into the sport in pre-school because there was a program to set kids up with extracurricular activities after school. I chose tennis and swimming. I found it funny because as I got older, my dad told me that before I was born, he hoped his kid would play tennis, so in a way, it was fate for me to play the sport. I loved being on the court and hitting tennis balls with friends, and I never wanted to leave. 

When I was a little older, my parents surprised me with a trip to New York, and little did I know that I was going to the U.S. Open. I was so excited when we showed up to the tournament. I got to see players I would always watch on TV and look up to. That experience made me want to be a professional tennis player. So many tennis players signed the huge tennis ball that I got at the Open, and I still have it at my house. After that experience, I knew that I wanted to work harder to try and get the opportunity to become a pro.

A few years later, I found a new coach to train me because I wanted to become a better player and play more competitively. It was fun for a while because he had an academy, and I got to be with kids my age. Then, it ended up being private lessons with my coach. I didn’t like it as much because it became more serious and stressful to do well in tournaments and less about having fun. About a year later, I had gotten a shoulder injury that caused me to be out of tennis for a month. I thought about quitting, but I loved the sport too much to do so.  

When I got back to tennis a little over a month later, I had a few different coaches, but they weren’t right for me. They all made the sport feel like it was too competitive, and I didn’t feel like I was having fun. It was like this for a few years until I met a coach in the summer of sixth grade. He had a tennis academy, and I felt welcomed by the other students and coaches. I felt like my love for tennis grew because of the people I became friends with and how amazing the other coaches were. The coach that I had met also became my private coach, and even though he was serious about the sport, he made it fun. He made me want to not quit and play longer. I may not have wanted to be a professional tennis player anymore, but I wanted to keep playing because of him and the academy. I have learned so many life lessons from him, and I still keep them with me.  

After four years, my coach had to move, and I found a new coach. I still enjoyed the sport, but not as much after he left. In my senior year of high school, I sustained an injury that required surgery. In a way, I was grateful. I realized that I no longer wanted to play tennis because I was burnt out. I gained stress and anxiety from the sport, and I realized my love for tennis left when my old tennis coach moved. By the time I started my freshman year of college, I quit tennis. Although I no longer play, I still keep my love for the sport. I also hold everything that I learned from my past coaches and academies in my heart because I believe everything happens for a reason, and I am grateful that they did.      

Ariana Fromm

Tampa '26

Ariana Fromm is a new writer for Her Campus at the University of Tampa. She enjoys subjects having to do with entertainment and traveling. Outside of Her Campus, Ariana is a sophomore at the University of Tampa, majoring in journalism with a minor in communications. She hopes that she can get into the sports writing industry and one-day cover sports such as tennis and hockey. Ariana enjoys playing sports such as tennis and basketball, as well as watching sports. She played tennis for 15 years, and even though she no longer plays it, she finds it to still be a big part of her life. She loves traveling, listening to music, writing, and watching films (mainly Marvel). She has also gotten more into reading since being in college and would love book recommendations.