An athlete’s love for a sport can come from unexpected places. Some athletes may have watched their sport growing up, and have developed a love for it since a young age. Others may have influence from their family, and are just expected to love it. But for senior Evelyn Lords, her passion for tennis comes both from developing a love for it and also family influence.

Lords did not grow up at a young age playing tennis. She actually didn’t start playing until she was in 7^th grade, which is pretty late considering most tennis players start as young as 5 years old. But despite the age she started playing, Lords’ dad is the person who got her playing in the first place.

“We would go to the beach every year and I would play smash ball with my dad,” Lords said. “One year he said, ‘Hey you’d be a good tennis player!’ and right after that, I started playing with a coach.”

Ever since that time on the beach, Lords’ love for tennis has grown and still continues to grow to this day. Her favorite part about tennis is that all the pressure is on her. Some might look at that as a disadvantage, but Lords sees it as motivation to do well in matches and tournaments.

Lords plays singles, and doesn’t have to depend on anyone else during a match. All the pressure is on her, but she doesn’t mind. She loves it, along with getting all the glory and fame when she wins.

The pressure she feels during regular season matches is multiplied by the time state comes around. This was Lords’ second year going to state, and it was hard for her not to be intimidated by all the girls there.

Lucky for her, she played against a player who was very similar to herself. They were both very consistent, and it was an even match. After some long points and an overall good match, Lords lost in the first round.

“Knowing that I worked hard all season and during regionals to get there still made it all worth it and made me so happy,” Lords said.

With the tennis season and state officially over now, Lords has bittersweet feelings for being done with her tennis career.

She will not miss practicing on the 110 degree tennis court every day in the summer, but will miss the relationships made during that time. Lords is going to miss all of her teammates and being able to practice with them every day and get closer as a team. The team also went on many fun tournaments throughout the years that Lords is going to miss.

Lords is grateful for the time she was able to play tennis for Highland. The sport has allowed her to make so many new friends and she got to meet many people she wouldn’t normally have met.

From starting tennis at an older age than most and being one of the few girls from Highland that made state, Lords’ love for tennis is evident and she proves that through hard work and determination, athletes can achieve great things.