Senior Ty Soderlund plays No. 1 singles for the Superior high school tennis team; he has done lessons and played on multiple tennis teams with other players around the area. 

With the spring tennis season coming around for the boys, Soderlund will face many opponents who he knows personally. Whether it is some of his closest friends that came from his summer teams or an opponent who he has only done a few lessons with, it still changes his routine the slightest way.

 “If it’s someone I’ve played multiple times that I actually have a chance at beating, I will usually know their weakness and try to abuse it, this also acts as a double edged sword though, because if they know me, they can just give me a volley and I’ll be guaranteed to miss that,” Soderlund jokes. 

Knowing many opponents, it gives a good advantage to Soderlund when he decides his shots. He will change his typical playing style to target their weaknesses, hoping to pull out the win even though his opponent has a similar advantage. 

Not only does the shots that Soderlund hits change, he will often take his breaks on the same side as his opponent which is not typical during a tennis match. 

“The changeovers are more enjoyable when you have someone you can just sit and talk to in between games, it’s in general a more positive experience. The only difference is when you actually want to win the match, you can’t always be silly the whole time, which sometimes ruins the mood. But I just try to balance it,” stated Soderlund.

Soderlund feels that meeting with his friends in between games or sets kills the opportunity for any kind of bad blood, but not the competitive urge to win. Considering all of the matches Soderlund plays are important, whether it is for conference or sub-sectional seeding, he makes sure there is no beef between him and his opponents. 

“Depending on how the match goes, in general the match doesn’t really affect any relationship off the court, if anything one person might be mad for like a day, but it usually dissipates right after,” Soderlund said. 

Even when Soderlund tries to stay tame within his matches, the results can cause some tension, but he has yet to have an ongoing bad experience with an opponent.