Women’s tennis’ Jennifer Brady adjusts to team play
Freshman Jennifer Brady, who has already made an impact on the UCLA women’s tennis team, shifted the focus from herself to “(winning) for the team.” (Katie Meyers/Daily Bruin senior staff)
By Alexis Williams
April 9, 2014 2:09 p.m.
Twelve years ago, as freshman Jennifer Brady stepped onto the tennis courts at her local park, she looked across the net to see her fiercest competitor yet: her father. He began taking Brady and her sister there for fun to practice hitting balls and running the court.
Less than ten years later, Brady traveled both across the United States and across the world for weeks at a time, taking on the best young women’s tennis players internationally in places like Wimbledon and the U.S. Open.
Now, in her first year at UCLA, Brady has become a key player on the No. 2 women’s tennis team in the country. Brady, with junior Robin Anderson, is part of the No. 1 doubles team and will likely be competing in NCAA women’s tennis national championships this spring, all before she has even one year of college under her belt. Despite Brady having been a top-ranked tennis player throughout middle school and high school, her many years of practice could not have prepared her for the challenges she will face in her next four years on the UCLA women’s tennis team.
Though moving from Boca Raton, Fla., to UCLA for college was a huge adjustment, Brady knew most of her future teammates prior to her first day at UCLA because she played in junior tournaments with many of them.
“It may be awkward at first to be on the team because you may not know anybody,” Anderson said. “Fortunately for Jenny, she knew most of us, so having a team away from home is like building a second family.”
Because Brady traveled so much before college, she said she is now used to being away from home, though she does miss hitting the courts with her parents and sister. For her, the hardest adjustment is the increased focus on the team aspect of college tennis.
“It’s not something a tennis player is used to,” said coach Stella Sampras Webster. “They’re used to doing their own thing with a private coach. When they’re done, they’re done; if they don’t want to practice, they don’t practice. Here, it’s a commitment – it’s a team.”
Now, in college, Brady has had to adjust to no longer relying on just herself, and supporting her fellow teammates.
“Now, you want to win for the team and do it for the team,” Brady said. “It’s not all about yourself anymore, it’s about the team. If you’re playing, you have the extra motivation to win for the team. It feels so great.”
As Brady approaches her first Pac-12 and NCAA tournaments, she refuses to think of herself as a freshman playing her first college tournaments and focuses more on seeing herself as a team player instead.
“It doesn’t feel different being a freshman,” Brady said. “The college aspect is different, … but playing is about the same, just with balancing out school and tennis. I don’t want to let my team down.”
