Yorkville High School tennis is making quite a racket.

Lining up along the baseline, the entire girls program hammered ceremonial first serves to celebrate the grand opening of the school’s new $1.8 million tennis complex.

While the eight-court complex better suits the program’s growth – bringing them up to “love all” with competitor schools’ facilities – the program believes the complex is an asset for the entire community.

“We’re ecstatic about the new courts and having a more even playing field,” Laura Olson, girls varsity head coach, and junior varsity boys coach, said at the Aug. 26 opening matches.

“We’ve doubled the size of the girls program in the past two years. More courts brings more opportunities for our students to play. We now have the extra space we needed, it’s absolutely beautiful,” Olson said.

The girls program has expanded to 15 girls on varsity and 17 on junior varsity. The program is still recruiting new players and there is a feeder program at the middle school level to encourage students to try out when they reach high school.

‘A huge need’

The location, behind the high school main campus, is the former site of the school’s freshman softball diamond. The district is turning the new tennis complex and the new baseball and softball turf fields into a central sports complex.

The district hopes the new tennis complex becomes a pillar for both the school and the community, said Luke Engelhardt, associate principal of athletics, activities and facilities.

“It’s something our athletes and our community can take pride in,” Engelhardt said. “This was a huge need that was addressed and it’s going to be long-lasting. It’s what our athletes deserve. It’s beautiful, in a great location with fantastic viewing. Our school can now be represented in the way it should be.”

Yorkville was previously the only school in the conference with only six tennis courts, he said. Now with the bigger complex, there is more flexibility and possibilities for holding matches, he said.

With the district facing capacity issues, Engelhardt said maximizing every inch of the facilities and grounds is crucial.

He said the district was supportive and the courts are already experiencing great usage, from the high school’s “wellness division,” recreational clubs, and community members outside school hours.

Community connections

They even added a pickleball court for the community to enjoy.

“We have some senior ladies come here everyday at 8 a.m. to play pickleball, I love that we have that open door access,” Olson said. “You’re a taxpayer, come on down, we keep our gates open. Come watch a match, too.”

Olson said when you watch the teams compete, the Foxes mentality is immediately apparent.

“Our philosophy here is treat everyone like family, we’re here to support each other,” Olson said. “I have a lot of my varsity girls leading drills, setting the example for others. They teach the younger grades what it means to be a Yorkville Fox.”

Olson said a lot of sweat and tears will be poured into the new tennis courts. She said while participating is about enjoying the fun and beauty of the game, the program also views success as preparing their student athletes for their next steps in life.

“We hope they carry the lessons they learn here post-high school,” Olson said. “Myself and our junior varsity coach, Heather Miragliotta, are both Yorkville girls, we went K-12 here. It is important for us to stay in this community and help build it up. We want to help build the kids up and inspire them to become leaders.”

Time on the new courts will be split between the girls program, the boys varsity and junior varsity teams, and the school’s tennis intramural program for students of any ability level.

To learn more about Yorkville 115’s girls tennis program, including their full match schedule, visit, y115.org/parents/athletics/tennis-girls.