TEAM = Family!

My dream came true when I moved to the U.S. to play tennis, but also when I realized I would finally be part of a team. My whole life, I had played an individual sport. It was amazing, but it could also feel incredibly lonely. Even though I was still alone on the tennis court during matches in college, I always had my teammates beside me, competing and cheering me on at the same time. Their energy was contagious, and it is something I will miss forever.

Some of the best moments of my tennis career came from being part of my college team. The relationships and bonds I formed during those four years showed me that a team can truly become a family and a place to call home. Throughout those years, we experienced both highs and lows, but we always fought for one another. Putting 12 different individuals into the same environment and expecting them to immediately function as one is not easy. It started with simply listening to each person’s “why” and understanding the role tennis played in their lives. From there, we focused on growing together rather than individually, and that became the foundation of our success as a team. Of course, there were also team-building activities organized by our coach, and those experiences helped us build trust and better understand what each person brought to the group.

I believe the strongest tool that helped us become such a close team was connection. We became a group that genuinely enjoyed spending time together outside of the tennis court. We shared our cultures by cooking food from our home countries, played board games, and simply found ways to enjoy each other’s company. Through those interactions, we learned how to listen, support one another when we missed home and our families, and be a shoulder to lean on during difficult moments. Nothing bonds people more than going through the same experience together at the same time. The activities our coach encouraged us to participate in, along with our time together outside of practice, gave us the tools we needed to better understand one another on the court and recognize when someone needed extra support, encouragement, or simply someone cheering them on.

It is truly amazing what you can achieve when you have teammates beside you on the court, fighting just as hard as you are. In those moments, you tap into another level of energy and determination because all you want is the joy of running toward your teammates after winning the deciding match against a rival team. No feeling will ever compare to that. In those moments, you are no longer individuals — you are one TEAM working toward the same goal: becoming the best together.

While taking an Introduction to Teambuilding course, I learned about the importance of communication and connection within a team, and how those two elements can play a major role in a team’s success. Without connection, trust becomes difficult to build. And without trust, teammates cannot fully rely on one another on or off the court. Over time, the environment can shift into something more individual, where success becomes personal rather than collective. Much of what we discussed in the course helped me recognize how impactful our time together outside of tennis truly was. Without fully realizing it at the time, we were building the foundation of our team’s success.

We laughed, cried, celebrated, and grew together while doing what we loved most. Those memories will stay with me forever. If I could go back and play with those girls one more time, I would in a heartbeat. It was one of the greatest experiences of my life, with the best second family I could have asked for.