What inspired you to join the team?

My cousins inspired me to join the team since they played tennis as well.

Michelle Tong greets her opponent from Rosemead.

What would you say is the best feeling you experience on the court?

The best feeling is when I get the ball cleanly to the other side;

it doesn’t matter if I win or lose as long as I get the ball in cleanly.

How has the sport affected how you see life?

You don’t have to win in everything in life; as long as you try your best that is good enough.

How would you describe yourself on the team? Are you the clown? The singer?

I’m the deaf and clueless one. When [my teammates] are talking sometimes I hear something completely different from what they said. Like if they say album cover, I’m just like “What? Avocado?”

How would you describe your coach, Anthony Lim?

Lim is someone who doesn’t care about the results of the game; he just cares about the effort and energy that was put

into the match. If you make mistakes, he will guide you through how to fix it in order to make it work. He is a great coach; he gives us discipline wherever it is needed. For example, if we are sluggish and don’t move our feet for a game or for practice, he will give us running/sprinting workouts.

What was the hardest thing to learn about playing for you?

The hardest thing to learn about playing was that it wasn’t just the body movement and physical activity that determined whether or not you were good; it was also your mind and mental state that greatly affected your game.

What is the best advice you’ve been given?

Make them beat you. Basically you can lose, but only if the opponent made a great shot, not you yourself making a mistake and losing the point.