Junior Player Spotlight: Abigail Tak, USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center

At the beginning of each year, when the clock changes from 11:59 p.m. on December 31 to 12:00 a.m. on January 1, millions of people across the world make New Year’s Resolutions. For some that is exercising more and eating healthier, for others it could be pursuing a new career or changing daily habits.

For Abigail Tak, it was to become the best tennis player she possibly could be. The seventh-grader had been taking lessons since she was four-years-old, but as 2022 turned into 2023, she wanted to take it further.

“We went around the dining table announcing our new year’s resolutions, and that was when I announced my resolution was to become the best tennis player I could be,” Tak said. “So my mom signed me up for a bunch more tennis lessons, and after her and my dad learned more about USTA junior tournaments, they started signing me up for those as well. My dad also started playing with me after school, and we love to watch tennis on television or even in-person when we have time. Even when I go on vacation, I always have one of my racquets with me to play.”

And so for the last 2 years, Tak has dedicated herself to that resolution, immersing herself in a training regimen and tournament schedule that has helped her continue to improve as she aims to take her tennis to the next level.

The more she practices, the more she sees herself growing as a player, which only continues to push her.

“I think tennis is a very motivating sport. Each time I focus on something to improve, I can literally see the improvement happen, and then I can test everything during my weekend matches,” she said. “It’s super encouraging to see something that I’ve worked on and improved on actually deliver results when it matters. There’s something very satisfying about the whole process. It’s a lot like putting puzzle pieces together. Each area of improvement just adds on to the next, and the picture becomes clearer every day. That’s why I love tennis. There’s so much to keep working on and improving on.”

That mindset has helped Tak thrive, and her motivation is on display each time she hits the tennis court for practices or training sessions.

Her primary training home is the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Queens. In addition to the top-level coaching and expertise, it’s the balance between serious tennis training and fun that makes it the ideal place for her to go.

“The best thing about the NTC is the people,” she said. “The coaches here are really great, plus they’re a ton of fun and super friendly. We make jokes here and there during fitness or during training, or when I see one of them walking by in the halls. They really know how to encourage me and push us players to improve our games. They are also super-focused on making sure we develop an all-court ability with strengths in every part of the court, not just the baseline. They take their time to always provide good feedback whenever they see something wrong, and just seem to always have the perfect solution.”

Another benefit of training at the NTC, Tak says, is being surrounded by other top players who are pursuing similar goals to herself.

“I’ve made friends with many of them, and even my parents get to become friends with the other parents. It’s kind of like a growing tennis family at NTC,” she said. “It’s a lot of tough work when we’re training, but it’s also super fun to be here every day. I love walking through the entrance to begin my sessions and seeing photos of different tennis legends everywhere or getting a glimpse of live matches on one of the main TV screens around the facility.”

On the court, Tak is an aggressive player who goes for her shots. That approach comes from her dad, Isaac, who would always encourage her to hit the ball as hard as she can and test her margins. His philosophy was that if she wasn’t hitting the net, she wasn’t learning anything.

Even if that approach led to a loss in a match, it was something to build off and learn from, which can only help in the long run.

“I think his philosophy really helped me because, for instance, my second serve is now one of the highlights of my game. This surprises my opponents sometimes. I’ve seen some of them come into the court to receive my second serves only to find out they should probably have stayed back behind the baseline,” said Tak. “I’ve spent a lot of time working on my serves including targeting and incorporating slices and kicks. I like to keep my opponent guessing.”

In addition to her effective serve, Tak has excellent ground strokes and uses a ton of variety in her game. Even when she is at school she is looking to improve her tennis. If she has a free period or during lunch, she’ll play tennis with other boys and girls, which has helped her develop the ability to both hit with high topspin like a lot of boys do, but also flatten out her shots when she needs to.

An area of focus most recently is putting together an effective net game, something that participating in clinics and lessons at NTC has helped cultivate.

“They had a really great doubles clinic recently, and I learned that it is pretty much an all-net game, and that really helped me improve,” said Tak. “I’m now very comfortable at the net, but I do have to get better being more strategic about when to come in. Sometimes I come in at the wrong time only to realize that I’ve given my opponent a winner opportunity against me.”

That perhaps is the best part about Tak’s game. While she knows she is one of the better players her age, she is not naïve about the need to add to her game and improve on a consistent basis.

All of that tennis training can take a toll on a young player, so Tak makes sure tennis isn’t the only thing she enjoys doing. While she plays tennis any chance she gets, she also likes to spend time in the winter going skiing. Other than tennis, Tak says skiing is her favorite sport, and she’ll often take a week off from tennis during the winter to hit the slopes.

She is also an avid writer, who loves reading books which has fueled her desire to craft her own writing voice, and she also plays violin in her school’s orchestra.

“But even when I’m not playing tennis, it’s pretty hard to keep me away from it,” she admits. “I started a tennis club at my middle school last year. I thought it’d be a great way to get together with others like me that want to talk about tennis even when we’re not playing.”

At the beginning of last year, Abigail Tak committed herself to being the best tennis player she could be, and has put that plan into practice in the 24 months since that resolution. She rightfully has lofty goals for herself as she moves forward, and for now, is just focused on the day-to-day process of improving on anything she can.

“For now, my goal is to just keep getting better,” she said. “I do want to play tennis in college, especially after participating in team events like the L4 Intersectionals we had here at the NTC. I also play for my school team which has been a lot of fun, and it makes me eager to be part of a great college team when I graduate high school. It’s super cool being able to play at the same place that the pros do during the U.S. Open, and I’ve even had the chance to play inside some of the big stadiums like Grandstand and Court 17. I can’t wait to come back as a competitor in the U.S. Open one day.”