Girls Tennis Co-Captain Ananya Madduri ’23 conditions her team for success and high-intensity competition. In addition to Andover’s team, Madduri has also played on the Hong Kong National Tennis team — a result of her passion and ambition towards the sport.
Madduri began playing tennis in the footsteps of her father, who pursued the sport at the collegiate and professional level. At eight years old, Madduri joined her local club team in Hong Kong, then gradually worked her way up to the national squad.
“I have always grown up in a family [who is] very passionate about tennis… I have always loved how both mental and physical the sport is. I find playing tennis to be like also playing mental chess because you’re constantly having to kind of recalculate game strategy between points between games and even before matches. So it’s as mental as it is physical,” said Madduri.
This spring marks the second season Madduri will serve as a Co-Captain for the team. Emory Wilson ’23 appreciates Madduri for her exemplary leadership and optimistic attitude.
“She’s really organized and she always delivers on her promises. But more than that, she’s also really enthusiastic. And she’s always getting the team pumped, ready for practice, ready for a match… She’s [also] a great player. [She] looks insane. Her groundstrokes are so good. And she’s such a powerful player, I love to watch her play,” said Wilson.
Madduri shared some of the team values that she hopes to embody in her captaincy this season.
“Every year, there are critical members that graduate and so you bring on new members, that’s always an exciting part of the beginning of a new season is being able to break ice with these new players… But I think our values have always stayed the same. Being as family focused, as supportive, inclusive as possible. And really, the goal is to make everyone a better player, a better teammate because at the end of the day, that’s what makes our team such a tight-knit, strong, and just a happy team.”
Besides competing for Andover, Madduri has participated in tournaments in Massachusetts, California, and various Asian countries. Madduri recalled how physically taxing some of the international tennis tournaments were, specifically one in Thailand.
“I was playing in 40° C [104° F] weather with 100% humidity. I literally encountered heat stroke on one of the days I was playing a match. And that just teaches you so much physical resilience. It teaches you how to adapt to extreme weather conditions, but it also reminds you [of the] different lessons that tennis teaches you about staying, really focused,” said Madduri.
With her experience, Madduri serves as an inspiration to her teammates. Kendra Tomala ’26 – new to the team – commented on how well Madduri is able to demonstrate sportsmanship while competing fiercely with her doubles partner, Amy Oku ’25.
“I’ve seen her play doubles, she and her partner, I feel like they work very well together. They’re very focused during the match. They always keep each other motivated [and] support each other during the match. I look up to that. I feel like I don’t have as much experience in doubles. And [I am] trying to feel like I want to be able to be intense but still focused and still help my partner in doubles,” said Tomala.
In her last season on Andover’s team, Madduri hopes to challenge herself and her teammates to compete at the highest level possible.
“I think individually my goal is to be the best player that I can be… to be a competitor that has great sportsmanship, that leads by example, but also someone that is able to analyze the weaknesses of their game and where they can really push themselves. For me, tennis is a journey, it’s never a sprint. It’s constantly evolving. My game is constantly evolving, that’s the way I want it to be,” said Madduri.
Madduri hopes to walk-on to a Division I collegiate tennis program next Fall.
