Weekend Chit-chat with Batavia girls tennis player Julianne Robinson

Batavia junior girls tennis player Julianne Robinson had a successful 2014 season, which saw her make the Kane County Chronicle Girls Tennis All-Area Honorable Mention doubles team. But with her partner, Sydnee Unterberg, having graduated, Robinson will switch to singles this year. She caught up with Kane County Chronicle sports reporter Chris Casey for the latest edition of the Weekend Chit-chat to discuss her offseason and expectations for her first high school season playing singles. Here’s an edited transcript:

What have you done this summer to prepare for the season?

I’ve just been playing every day. I have been working really hard hitting and serving as much as I can.

What is your summer schedule like?

Well [Batavia coach Brad Nelson] has summer camp every morning from 9 to 11 a.m. So I go to that every day and then in the afternoons, I hit with a different group. So that’s usually how my week goes.

You played doubles last year. Is that still the plan for this season?

No, I will be playing singles this season. Because my partner from this past year (Unterberg) graduated, I decided I wanted to play singles.

So is this offseason and what you work on different because of the switch from doubles to singles?

Yeah, I have been working a lot more on singles strategy. Being on your own, you need to be in good shape because you run more. So I have still worked on my hitting and serving, but also a bunch on getting into shape and doing some conditioning.

Have you played singles before?

Not at Batavia. My first two years, I played doubles. But I have done a lot of USTA (United States Tennis Association) tournaments where I have played singles. So I’m familiar with it, but have not done it until now in high school.

Talk about the hard work that goes into a tennis offseason.

Well, I obviously love playing tennis, so I see it as more fun than work. I mean there’s definitely hard work, though, too. I have had a lot of fun playing and practicing with my friends.

What did you take away from having 11 seniors on the team last year?

It was great having that many experienced girls to look up to. It was great having them to hit with and learn from everything they have done and been through.

Being only one of two sophomores on the team last year, did it help having played on varsity as a freshman?

It did. It really helped me get ready and know what to expect last year. I had never played at that high of a level before so I got a lot of good experience from freshman year.

What are your biggest goals for this season?

I definitely want to try to qualify for state. I haven’t done that in either of my first two years, so I’m hoping to be able to do that.

What are you looking forward to most about the upcoming season?

Well, because it is my first season playing singles, I am really looking forward to a new challenge. I want to try to win as many matches as I can. I also want to do well at conference, sectionals and, like I said, make it to state.