Charlotte Yao: Varsity-Level Tennis Player
-Singles Player on Menlo School’s Varsity Tennis Team
-NorCal Champions: 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2014, 2015, 2019
-CCS Championships: 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2005, 2014, 2015, 2019
How I manage tennis, school, friends, family, etc?
“I would say it’s pretty hard to manage everything but I think of myself as someone who time prioritizes really well. I learned because of tennis because we are required to go to practice 2 hours a day and then go home late at night and start homework. Form having such a busy schedule, I have learned how to manage my time. I like to use my physical planner to map out my week and my day and set my expectations for what to do and what to prepare for.”
How do I deal with burnout?
“I luckily have not experienced burnout. I do this by setting goals for myself. For example, I want to get to this ranking by a certain time. I also decide how often I go to my clinic and play by myself so manage my burnout more easily in that way. When I don’t achieve one of those goals, it just makes me work harder. If I don’t make an exact ranking, I am normally pretty close so that pushes me to work harder and schedule more lessons and practices to get myself there.”
How do I deal with stress on competition day?
“I like to wake up early because it allows me to de-stress as it allows me to wake up my brain. I like to watch professional tennis and good games and highlights from these matches to make me feel like I can embody that player and match their speed and intensity. I also like warming up with friends so I can not feel too stressed and keep the mood pretty light before the match.”
How do I deal with parental pressure?
“I do feel some pressure from my parents as tennis can be a pretty expensive sport with private lessons and equipment, etc. I feel this pressure because I feel like I have to perform for every minute or every dollar they are putting into my sport. This can be pretty stressful, especially during matches when they may be watching me, but I always remember that they will be understanding and appreciate that they know how sometimes you can just have a bad day.”
How do I deal with team pressure?
“I feel a lot of pressure when playing for my school team because I feel a lot of pressure with people relying on me to do well in my match. My team never puts pressure on me but most of this pressure comes from within and just not wanting to let me team down. I try to cope with this by just remembering that all the pressure is coming from within and knowing that my team will have my back no matter what.”
What type of teammate helps me with my mental health?
“My team is super tight and I feel like we all understand that tennis pretty high pressure. Something that’s really special about team tennis is that you are playing solo but for a team effort. We always give each other high 5s and always give vocal encouragement with stuff like “lets go” or “you got this”.
Do I feel like out of place in my sport?
“I don’t think I’ve felt much out of place in my sport, if not I felt very in place. As I am starting college apps, I am seeing on social media like TikTok with people posting their statistics and extracurriculars. I constantly see how a common thing for Chinese/Asian America girls like me is playing tennis. In that way, I don’t feel appreciated in my sport as it is kind of reduced down to just another Chinese girl playing tennis because that’s what I hear a lot. I don’t think it’s that big of a deal because I really do enjoy playing tennis so I try to block that out but it is sometimes annoying not being fully appreciated for my success in my sport.”
Do you think mental health is talked about in your team?
“I don’t think our coach really talks about mental health that much but I wish he would talk to us about how he dealt with stress in his matches. I have had to find some routines and copying strategies to manage my stress, but I wish there were people who told me this before. Some of my strategies include bouncing the ball a specific number of times before I serve and while things might be small or even silly, I find that they really help calm me down during a match. Overall, I feel like mental health is sometimes talked about but only after we hear famous athletes talking about it and we wish it was a more regular conversation rather than just being talked about a few times a year. I think making it more normal will allow people to open up more and help others with whatever strategies/tools/suggestions they may have.”
