Tensions rise within the audience on the field’s bleachers when the tennis match’s score comes close. The audience members keep on cheering, seeing how members of the team start to give up and lose hope. All of sudden, Rachel Hernandez (12) runs onto the court and swipes the ball over the net with her racket so intensely, preventing the other team from gaining the point and allowing her team to dominate the tournament.

Rachel entered the world of tennis along with her twin sister at a young age and began competing in tournaments. Following in her parents’ footsteps, Rachel started playing tennis with her twin sister at a young age. With the guidance of her parents and coaches, she soon began competing herself. 

“My parents and my coaches contributed to my success, and I wouldn’t be where I am today without them because they’ve always inspired me and pushed me to be my best on and off,” Rachel said. “They’ve provided me with great opportunities.”

Rachel initially started tennis unsure of how she felt toward the sport and then found her passion for the activity after first trying it out. She started off playing casually at around the age of 3 and then eventually made her way matches at around the age of eight. While Rachel enjoys tennis because of the opportunities it provides her to compete and improve her skills, tennis has also taught her crucial skills as well as expanded her relationships with peers. 

“Tennis has taught me the importance of resilience and dedication,” Rachel said. “I’ve also created lifelong friendships, which is really important. The people you meet through tennis, even if they live across the country or even in other countries — it’s a great bond that you have with them.”

While Rachel enjoys playing tennis, she also believes that when faced with challenges, such as recovering from injuries, one of the most crucial skills is being able to not let those obstacles get in the way through perseverance and pushing through these challenges in times of difficulty. Rachel believes that possessing these skills contribute to a successful tennis player, even more than winning games. 

“You always face challenges during matches, whether it’s not playing well that day or dealing with an injury,” Rachel said. “But the important thing is pushing through and doing the best you possibly can that day, and being mentally tough instead of just giving up and saying you’ll try again a different day. It’s like working through whatever issue you’re going through on the court. Like winning ugly because that’s what defines a truly good tennis player from just a regular tennis player.”

Going further into the importance of perseverance, Rachel also notices the positive effects of having persistence. Even through her challenges, she always gives her full attention and energy to accomplish her goals.

“Hard work pays off,” Rachel said. “Really being dedicated to something is important, and it teaches you that if you decide to do something, you have to do it 100%. You have to try to do your best every day, and it’ll add up over time.”

Twin sister Sophie Hernandez also views Rachel as a resilient person, which can be seen through their tennis journey together. They would often play together and persevere through challenges as a team, which allowed them to achieve great strides in tennis. 

“We would play singles, replays, doubles,” Sophie said. “We don’t play doubles together anymore, but we used to play doubles together when we were around 10, 11, 12 years old. We won this big, so that was cool to share that moment together and to see our hard work pay off.”

This year, Rachel committed to Emory College to play tennis. Teammate Anika Akkiraju (10) recalls the moment when Rachel received the news and Rachel’s dedication to tennis. She also noted the pride she felt in the moment when Rachel received the news. 

“When she told me, she had committed to play tennis at a college she really wanted to go to,” Anika said. “I was really, really happy for her, and I was proud of her. It was really, a good moment.”

Close friend Kailana Eaker-Natsuoka met Rachel at around the age of 11 at a tennis academy. As time went on, they started getting to know each other better through practicing and competing together at several tournaments and eventually made a connection as friends soon after. Kailana recalls a moment when Rachel took the initiative to start their friendship, when she had the courage to approach Kailana initially. 

“She’s always been extroverted and I was quieter, but she would talk to me,” Kailana said. And she was probably the first one to talk to me rather than me talking to her. She’s always super friendly to everyone.”

Kailana also notes that contrary to having a facet that is very extroverted, Rachel also can be characterized as someone who takes into consideration the thoughts of others and builds on their thoughts or at least remembers to listen to others. 

“I’ve gotten to know her better, and she’s very understanding,” Kailana said. “She’ll always listen and understand and she won’t talk over you or try to share her opinion right away. She will share what she thinks, but she’ll definitely let you explain, and she’ll try to understand exactly how you feel or what you think.”