Get Ready to be Served

Freshman Sofia Quevedo jumps to hit her serve.

Quevedo

Freshman Sofia Quevedo jumps to hit her serve.

Lane Morris, Staff Writer

Freshman Sofia Quevedo is excited to be a part of the varsity tennis team at Gables.  She is in the IB program as well as Yearbook, Shape, and the Key Club.  Sofia started playing tennis at the young age of 4. As the years went by,  she kept practicing and participated in her first tournament at age 9. Her teammates nicknamed her “Quev”, short for Quevedo.

Although no one in Sofia’s family plays tennis, her family makes sure to support her and attend all of her matches. She started playing tennis because her father’s company, Worldwide Exports Management Inc., which sells tennis rackets; he encouraged her to play.

“[I started playing] when I was young, and I’ve stuck with it ever since,” said Sofia.

Playing tennis at a competitive level is no walk in the park; practice hours are long and intense.

“I practice everyday, but sometimes it’s hard because I have a lot of homework,” said Quevedo.

Not only does she play tennis because she enjoys it, but she also quite good and has won many awards. The most recent tournament she won was the Super Series. She has many goals she wishes to achieve.  Although she isn’t interested in going pro, she hopes to play in college.

“I hope to receive an athletic scholarship and it would be amazing if I had the chance to play Division I,” she said.

Before games Sofia always gets nervous. To prep for her matches, she listens to music. In addition, she waits until she arrives at a tournament to put on her shoes. Usually she doesn’t eat anything before a match, but sometimes her mom forces her to eat a banana.

“I get super duper nervous; sometimes I throw up since I’m so scared. Even though I’ve been playing tournaments for 6 years, the butterflies never go away,” said Sofia.

Sofia has a few things she wants to improve:  her mental game and shape.Her biggest fan she says is by far her dad. Her dad was the one who introduced her to this sport at the age of 4. According to Sofia, her dad loves tennis as must as she does.

“He also goes to every single one of my matches… [and is] always there to support me after my matches, win or lose. Without him, I wouldn’t be doing the thing that I love,” says Sofia.

When she’s not playing tennis, she enjoys playing the piano, hanging out with friends and walking her dog.

She hopes to continue playing for the Gables team for the rest of her high school years. Sofia Quevedo is not someone you want to face on the other side of the net.