Andrew Zhao
Freshman Akina Ogawa prepares to hit a forehand at the Palo Alto High School tennis courts. According to Ogawa, playing on the Paly tennis team gave her a whole new perspective. “Tennis is an individual sport, and I've never played on a team either, but the atmosphere is just really different,” Ogawa said. “It's really fun to cheer on my other teammates and also see that my teammates are rooting for me.”
Is Palo Alto witnessing the rise of its next tennis phenomenon? In just her first year on the Palo Alto Vikings girls’ tennis team, freshman Akina Ogawa claimed the title as SCVAL singles champion and went on to make the 2025 CCS Girls Tennis Singles Championship finals.
According to Ogawa, her success traces back to her family.
“I started when I was about five or six years old. My mom played Division 1 for Brown, so she had a lot of experience ,and she passed that knowledge to me,” Ogawa said. “She’s basically been my coach ever since.”
According to Ogawa, playing on the Paly tennis team gave her a new experience.
“Tennis is an individual sport, and I’ve never played on a team but the atmosphere is really different,” Ogawa said. “It’s really fun to cheer on my other teammates and also see that my teammates are rooting for me.”
Head Coach Andy Chang said Ogawa immediately shifted the team’s dynamic.
“When you have a strong player that comes to the team, everybody gets moved down one spot,” Chang said. “It takes the pressure off the rest of the players. They’re more confident because they know they’ve got a strong No. 1.”
Even with her talent and experience, Ogawa said she still has to work on maintaining a positive mindset.
“My semi finals match was really, really long — it was almost four hours,” Ogawa said. “The reason why was because the opponent was really good, but also sometimes when I was up in the game, I would just lose focus and make a couple errors. I really need to work on my mindset and stay positive and just play point by point.”
Chang said the mental pressures of the game of competition are where he tries to help the most.
“She has the skill set, but she’s still young,” Chang said. “In matches, the pressure can affect her thinking. That’s the biggest part I worked on with her this season, giving her tips to handle those moments.”
This season, Ogawa went undefeated in the seven matches she played for Paly. At CCS Individuals, she beat the defending CCS champion in a three-hour-long semifinal, 7-5, 6-7, 0-1 (13-15). She withdrew from the final due to fatigue.
Ogawa said her long-term goal is to play college tennis competitively in the future.
“Sometimes I’m tired ,and I don’t want to wake up early to play tennis, but I have a goal to play D1 in college so I just think about that and it motivates me,” Ogawa said.
According to Ogawa, she’s proud of what she’s achieved and looks forward to the next season.
“Looking at my stats from just a year ago, I’ve improved a lot, and I feel like I have a lot more time to reach that goal,” Ogawa said. “Maybe next year I can win CCS championships instead of just going to the finals.”
Chang said that next season, with Paly moving into the more competitive De Anza League, Ogawa will get the chance to measure herself against better players.
“Next year is going to be a pivotal year for her,” Chang said. “With another year of training and growth, I think she’ll be even better. She was very close this year, and she has another chance to make the finals again.”