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Hard work paying off on all levels for local tennis player

By MICHAEL BOYLAN
mboylan@TheCitizenNews.com

Siana Simmons, 15, has been playing tennis for close to eight years, which is almost as long as she and her family have resided in Fayette County. Her long career in the sport has helped her rise to the top in both the state and region and she is also starting to make a name for herself on the national scene. Having just left the 14 year old age bracket, where she was ranked fifth in the state and section and in the mid 30’s nationally, Simmons and her coaches Beth Wortmann and Rick Davison are expecting big things in her future tennis career.

When she was younger, Simmons’ family lived overseas. Her father, Steve, an employee of Coca-Cola, loved playing tennis, so Simmons and her older sister Shayna were introduced to the sport at a very young age. The family spent time living in Singapore, Thailand, Hong Kong and South Africa before moving to Fayette County, where Siana started to seriously focus on tennis. At first she took lessons and then progressed to attending academies and camps. She played her first competitive match when she was close to nine years old and although she lost, she felt that it was a good experience.

As the years went by and Simmons got better as a player, the losses started to come less frequently and the wins started to pile up. Her mother, Wynetta, estimates that she plays in between 24 and 30 tournaments a year with many taking place all over the southeast. Among her tournament wins are wins at the Mayor’s Cup, the Blue and Gray tournament and the Allcourt Academy Championship, which she won as a first year 14 player playing in the 16 division. She also has second place finishes at the Spring Open and Spring Closed, as well as a recent fourth place finish at the Southern Open Clay Courts tournament. While she has trophies and awards commemorating all of these finishes, she is most proud of the three sportsmanship awards that she has collected over the years.

Simmons, a former student at Starr’s Mill High School, is currently being home schooled. This was done more out of necessity as the tournaments she played in often went on into Mondays, meaning that there would be a lot of missed days of school and school policy only allows a certain amount each year. Her favorite subject is English and she enjoys writing poetry, as well as reading the classics. Being home schooled also allows her more time to practice tennis, which she estimates can run close to five hours every day. On non-tournament weekends, there are days where practice may run all day and last close to seven hours. Simmons admits practice is the hardest part of tennis but she knows it makes her better.

“Practicing is the most difficult thing about tennis, because you have to work on the stuff you’re not good at,” Simmons said. “You have to work extra hard in practice so that you’re in better shape for the tournaments and can play like you practice.”

In addition to her practices, Simmons also works on her speed, strength and agility at Velocity Sports Performance. She also swims laps, runs on a treadmill and rides a stationary bike to stay in top physical condition as well. Simmons also plays her sister when she is home from school and is finally able to beat her, which is something that she hadn’t been able to do before. When not playing tennis, which isn’t too often, Simmons also plays the flute and piano and takes CCD classes at Holy Trinity Catholic Church.

This weekend, Simmons will play in the Bullfrog Designated tournament. Her goals for the future are to play tennis for either the University of Georgia, Duke or Stanford and to also be able to play tennis professionally after graduation. With all of the hard work that she puts into her game, anything is possible.