The last time that Lauren Addy stepped onto a tennis court, she helped Newton County take a win over defending 5A state champion Stone County.
But then COVID-19 came along and eventually cancelled the high school tennis season.
But unlike many high school players, Addy will have one more chance to play a high school match. Addy was recently selected to play in the Mississippi Association of Coaches All-Star tennis event. The all-star matches will be played on Thursday, July 16 at Parham Bridges.
Newton County tennis coach Chad Bond said Addy was one of the most talented players he’s coached in years.
“She has always had a ton of promise and ability,” Bond said. “She had lots of natural ability and worked hard to become a strong player for us. There were several days when she came to both practices and she came because she wanted to get in the extra work and push her teammates. I didn’t ask her to do that, she just did it on her own. She took it seriously that she was the only senior on the team. She really wanted to lead by example.”
Addy is just thankful for the opportunity to play one last match.
“I’m sad that everything happened the way it did but I’m thankful to get to play in one last match,” Addy said. “I just want to go out there and have fun. I want to win the match but I’m not going out there to win the match. I’m just thankful to get the opportunity to play one last match.”
Bond said he thought Addy was on her way to a huge season.
“I hate her season was cut short when it was,” Bond said. “She was on the way to having a great year. The last match we played, we beat Stone County who was the defending 5A state champions. It’s one of those things that we will never know how good this team could have been. You just never know and replacing one kid can be hard. She will be hard to replace. I always wonder how good this team could have been and how far she could have gone.”
Addy turned down multiple tennis scholarships and opted to be in the Centralettes at East Central Community College.
“She is just now starting to tap her potential as a tennis player,” Bond said. “I talked to her about playing in college but she had already made her mind up. I think if she had played at somewhere like East Central and played against those foreign players and better players, she would have gotten better and better. I asked her if she didn’t feel like she had some unfinished business with the way the season ended.”
Tennis is one of the few sports getting to have an all-star game this summer.
“We didn’t think we would be to have an all-star game,” Bond said. “But because we play at Parham Bridges and it’s a public facility, it’s open. Tennis is a little different and lends itself to social distancing. At least she will get to play in a last match. I’m just thrilled she got picked and gets to go out on her own terms.”
