Katherine Hui
September 28, 2023
“I started playing tennis when I was around four or five years old. It started just for fun, kind of just a lesson a week. At seven, I started playing tournaments and by the time I was 10 or 11, I started wanting to play professionally. I remember when I was around 12 or 13, at school they asked us to put down our goals and I actually put that I wanted to win the junior US Open. Obviously, I didn’t know anything at the time, I was just like that would be really cool. And then I ended up doing it. During the tournament, I think I knew I was capable of it, and I obviously had a lot of people telling me I could, but I tried to not think too much about winning it all. It was extra special to me, though, because it was the last junior tournament of my career. The entire time, I was thinking more about that little 7 year old girl who had just started playing tennis seriously. I really connected with my childhood self at that time, and I think that’s what kept me motivated and gave me a good mentality.
“I started playing tennis when I was around four or five years old. It started just for fun, kind of just a lesson a week. At seven, I started playing tournaments and by the time I was 10 or 11, I started wanting to play professionally. I remember when I was around 12 or 13, at school they asked us to put down our goals and I actually put that I wanted to win the junior US Open. Obviously, I didn’t know anything at the time, I was just like that would be really cool. And then I ended up doing it. During the tournament, I think I knew I was capable of it, and I obviously had a lot of people telling me I could, but I tried to not think too much about winning it all. It was extra special to me, though, because it was the last junior tournament of my career. The entire time, I was thinking more about that little 7 year old girl who had just started playing tennis seriously. I really connected with my childhood self at that time, and I think that’s what kept me motivated and gave me a good mentality.