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This year is not a good year for the young generation of tennis athletes here in the Western States. A number of our new generations have taken a leave from the court or have completely left it for a different pasture.
Listed below are the top five young tennis players that left the court this year. These are the greatest names of this generation and had the capacity of being the next Champions. We know they’re out of the court for now, but there’s still hope in all our hearts that they pick-up a racket and play again in the courts someday soon.
- PATRICK EVERHART (20)
[Image description: A blond-haired blue-eyed young man with a determined look on his face. He stands in an attack position, arms poised after throwing a great return.]
Patrick Everhart, age 20, left the stage on a high note. A day after he won the men’s regional tournament in the Western States Open, he announced his retirement. According to the press release from his side, he will be returning to his childhood home in the South and taking over his family’s business. It’s less dramatic than the others on this list, but Patrick Everhart, known to many fans as the Bull for his sheer strength and tenacity, has left the court.
- RYOGA ECHIZEN (20)
[Image description: A smirking dark-haired young man throwing a peace sign at the camera. He’s holding a gold medal and his racket.]
Coming from a family of genius tennis players, this Japanese-American player taking the court by storm came to no surprise. At 19 years and 3 months, he beat the previous record of John McDermott as the youngest player to win the US Open. He’s also amongst the young ones to have made it and played in the court of Wimbledon. Carrying the spirit of his father Samurai Nanjiro, everyone awaits what will be for this player. However, it seems he also carries more than his father’s spirit as he decided to focus on his studies in law to be like his mother. It’s only been a few months since he left the spotlight, but we’re hoping that once he finishes law school, he’ll pick up the racket once again.
- OLIVIA DEMPSEY (17)
[Image description: A young teenager with a bright grin jumps in the air and is in mid-smash position.]
One of the youngest and brightest tennis players in West, Olivia Dempsey, has also decided to take a leave of absence from her career in tennis. At age 17, she’s one of the most talented competitors in the Western States Open. She’s also gotten the brunt of many haters, both because of the scandal that called for her to be evicted from the Women’s competitions and dumped back to the Men’s. However, none of the ladies of the court took that lying down. Olivia Dempsey may have been born in the wrong body, but she’s a sister and the ladies won’t let anyone get away with hate against one of their own. Still, she decided to take a leave of absence for now to finish her transition. Once she’s done, we’re hoping to see more of this talented lady.
- MIKI & RIKA (15 & 15)
[Image description: A split photo – one is of an Asian girl with full bangs, her hair tied in a high ponytail. A sweet smile on her face as she holds up the silver medal on her neck; while the other is a teenage girl with orange-shade of ginger hair making a peace sign while showing off her gold medal.]
The youngest players in this roster, these two Japanese-American definitely have the brightest future when it comes to the court. They’re each other’s greatest rival – the top one and two respectively of the under 17 in the Western States Open. Kiseki Mizushima, known all over the field by her stage name ‘Miki’, and Rika Echizen are what the tennis world will call rivals in the court, sisters out of it. It breaks our heart to know that these two will be absent from the court due to a reckless accident.
After a long game, Miki and Rika were riding at the back of their school van when a truck collided with the vehicle. The driver of the van is dead, with two other students and their coach sustaining injuries. However, Miki and Rika definitely drew the worst of it. Rika’s lower body was trapped in the wreckage and she sustained broken bones and muscles. Meanwhile, Miki had her dominant arm twisted and broken. Both ladies are on medical leave to recuperate from their accident. We’re all praying that they’ll recover soon.
- JENNIFER SANTOS (22)
[Image Description: A beautiful teenage girl of Mexican descent with a bright grin on her face as she fist-pumps the air. Her right hand holding her pink racket thrown in the air.]
At age 22, Jennifer Santos has made a name for herself and was crowned as the next Serena Williams. It broke the fans’ hearts when she announced that she will be taking a leave of absence from the sport for health reasons. Her party had not yet disclosed what this health reason is, but everyone’s hoping that it isn’t anything serious. We’re still keeping faith that in the next ten years, the name that the tennis world will crown as the queen of the grass-court is Jennifer Santos.