Disclaimer: Sophie Wax writes for The Tufts Daily. She was not involved in the writing or editing of this article.
Stories of how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected athletes seem like old news, but for first-year tennis player Sophie Wax, the consequence of the pandemic remains timely. Wax shares her journey of navigating being a Jumbo athlete amid the pandemic.
For Wax, who is from Newton, Mass., tennis was always a part of life. Her mother ran tennis clinics when she was young, so she was naturally surrounded by people who shared a common love for tennis. Wax would often go and watch her mom play tennis until she was old enough to join her out on the court. Realizing that tennis was something that she, too, loved to play, Wax decided to continue her involvement in the sport by going to summer camps and playing more often throughout the school year.
While tennis was the sport that Wax was most interested in, she also played soccer and basketball, ran cross-country and skied throughout high school. Despite her wide range of interests in these sports, Wax decided to focus on tennis as she got older because of her connection to the tennis community. Through a close friend, Wax was able to join a tennis club, opening her eyes to the welcoming nature of the tennis community.
Wax applied to Tufts through the regular decision round, unsure if she wanted to pursue playing tennis at the collegiate level. However, things started to change when a friend's parent introduced her to the Tufts tennis coach.
“[She] really encouraged me to play college tennis and ... my coaches and teammates who I was training with were playing college tennis ... and then I wanted to play,” Wax said.
While Wax’s collegiate tennis career seemed secured from that point forward, she ended up taking a gap year due to the pandemic. Although she was able to continue to play during isolation, Wax said it was difficult to return to academics.
“[Coming to college] was definitely an adjustment,” Wax said. “Last semester was really challenging for me because it took me so long to complete every assignment.”
Wax said she was used to the long practice hours and rigor of being a student-athlete from her time playing multiple sports during the same season throughout high school.
Wax also enjoys the communal aspects of college athletics.
“I really enjoy being on a team and practicing and lifting with the girls. We are all pretty close and practice is one of the best parts of my day," Wax wrote in a follow-up email to the Daily.
When Wax is not on the tennis court, she finds great value in her academics and plans to study biomedical engineering.
"I ... want to do something with the relationships between science, math, and medicine," Wax wrote. "I’m not quite sure what yet, but I’m excited to take engineering courses.”
The Newton native has learned some important time management skills in order to balance her demanding academics and athletic pursuits at Tufts.
“I think it’s important to time manage," Wax wrote. "There is a lot to juggle with practice, lifts, matches, and classes, so doing a little bit of an assignment every day is helpful rather than letting it pile up.”
Wax also emphasized the importance of utilizing the resources that she has in order to make the most of her student-athlete experience.
“There are just so many great opportunities in college from getting better at your sport, to making relationships with your professors, to meeting new people, to forming study groups with people,” Wax wrote.
The women's tennis season begins Saturday, March 12 at Middlebury where Wax and her teammates will look to make a deep run into the NESCAC playoffs and beyond.
