Name: Grady Phillips

School: Yorkville, senior

Sport: Tennis

Why he was selected: Phillips won the No. 1 singles championship at the Southwest Prairie Conference tennis meet and has an 18-2 record on the season with a 10-0 record in SPC regular season matches.

He was selected the Athlete of the Week in an online vote. Other nominees were Yorkville track and field’s Aiden Kolkmeyer, Oswego East baseball’s Jacsen Tucker and Sandwich track and field’s Sunny Weber.

Here is Phillips’ interview with Sports Editor Joshua Welge.

What did it mean to win conference? What match stood out?

Phillips: It meant a lot to me to win conference. I’ve put in a lot of work over the four years of high school and it finally payed off. My freshman year me and my partner got second, sophomore year I got fourth, junior year I got third, and I finally got first so it meant a lot to finally win.

You’ve obviously had a dominant season. Any other matches or tournaments stand out?

Phillips: A tournament that stuck out to me was the Waubonsie Valley quad. This quad is full of really good teams especially Wabounsie Valley. The last time I played Waubonsie I lost in singles. This year I beat their player and after played doubles in which me and my partner also beat Sycamore’s No. 1 doubles. It was awesome to finally beat Waubonsie because they are also in our sectional and often win it.

What would you describe as the strengths of your game?

Phillips: There isn’t a particular shot in my game that is really my strength. But If I had to choose something it would be my mentality. When something doesn’t go my way instead of accepting that I’m going to lose I never give up or quit. The way my mentality is it allows me to adapt to different players and there different play styles which really helps me beat any player I play. If I had to choose a shot as one of my strengths I would say my serve. I have a bunch of different types of serves like a flat, kick, slice, etc. By having different types of serves it allows me to set my next shots up and also allows me to dictate how I want the point to go.

I know you qualified for state in doubles. Have you played both throughout high school?

Phillips: I played No. 1 doubles my freshman year with my senior partner Cal. After that there was no one that I really wanted to play doubles with so I switched to singles. Since then I have been playing No. 1 singles.

How, and when, did you get started in tennis?

Phillips: The way I got started with tennis was my family friends told me about the Jon Stott tennis academy. I tried it out for a week and became hooked. Since then I’ve been doing private lessons with Jon and have played at the academy for over four years. Before playing tennis I played every sport. I got pretty good at baseball but I felt it was boring so I wanted to switch to a sport where there’s more action. So I chose tennis.

What are some things you love about the sport most?

Phillips: Some things I love most about the sport is how quickly you can go from losing a match to winning a match. I like how when you are out playing it’s all on you and the only person to blame if you’re losing is yourself. Like I said earlier I like the fast pace of the game and how fast you have to react for different shots. Lastly, I really like how everyday is different. You could play thousands of matches and every single one will be different. You never know what exactly will happen in your match.

What’s your post high school plans?

Phillips: After high school I will be attending Lewis University to dual major in aviation technology and aviation maintenance. I plan to get all my licensing and certificates to become a pilot in the airlines. Through out college I will play club tennis and some other intramural sports.