Making it to State in tennis was a big event in junior Elena Wilner’s life, especially when she wasn’t even sure she was going to be able to play.
“Right before at the end of the summer, I broke my elbow,” Wilner said. “So to be honest, I wasn’t even sure if I was going to be able to play.”
Still, Wilner battled back from her injury to not only compete this tennis season but to qualify for the State tournament.
Sixteen girls qualified for the State singles tournament, playing in brackets. Wilner got as far as the semifinals, winning both matches in two straight sets, before being defeated by St. Joseph’s Academy athlete Mary Burger.
She then played Lee’s Summit North athlete Logan Morrissey in the third-place match, and Wilner triumphed to bring home a medal.
“I was definitely a little disappointed from the match before; I played a girl who I would consider myself pretty even with. But on that day she just played incredibly, and there wasn’t much I could do,” Wilner said.
Wilner said that she new her mindset going into the third-place match was going to be the key to her victory.
“After having lost, I could have taken it two ways: I could have totally tanked and been really upset, but I really needed to end the tournament on a good note, so I really focused on trying to stay positive for the last match,” Wilner said.
Wilner said that a positive mindset has been one of her goals all season.
“I kind of have to remind myself not to focus on the results because it’s when you start thinking about results that you get really nervous and freaked out, so I couldn’t let myself do that,” Wilner said.
This is especially true when she gets frustrated at herself during a match.
“She’s pretty intense,” teammate and junior Lexi Ecker said. “She likes to scream at herself and slap herself when she messes up. She’s very confident on the court, and she tells herself that she won’t miss and won’t lose.”
Wilner’s expectations for next year are high, even as this year’s season has only recently wrapped up. She is planning on her team being able to win State; she also expects to go to State individually.
“My biggest advice would be to not worry about the results,” Wilner said. “It should be something like a refuge. When I play tennis, it’s kind of a break from everything else.”
Tennis has been “a break” for Wilner since she picked it up at age 10.
“I played non-seriously as a kid, but before that I swam and tennis was just kind of a hobby,” Wilner said. “At 10 I really started playing at least five days a week and academy year-round.”
This devotion to the sport has led Wilner to want to pursue tennis in college, even if she is not sure where she wants to go yet. Still she says her school work is what is most important.
“I try and have academics take priority, and I do take some hard classes,” Wilner said. “If there is a test coming up I have to work with my tennis schedule. I just try to stay flexible but academics take a priority.”