News & Features

My Players

|

My Lists

|

My School

|

My Notifications

Team Home

April showers present a challenge for players across the country, but the best players still find time to heat up the court. We caught up with players who had strong performances over the past month in our Prince Hot 100 Lists.

The Prince Hot 100 lists are published each month, and the May Hot 100 lists feature the one hundred boys and girls who most improved their rankings during the month of April. You can find out more about the Prince Hot 100 - and how the lists are calculated - by reading here.

The latest lists, published today, are available here:

• Boys' Hot 100
• Girls' Hot 100

We caught up with a few of these top performers...

Roundup

Ellie Johnson (Raleigh, N.C.)

Two-star sophomore Ellie Johnson credits her recent improvement to a boost in confidence. After coming out of a successful high school season in which her team made it to the state finals, her athletic self-esteem has grown.

Currently, Johnson is working with her coaches, Rob Peterson and Adrian Baluyot of Cary Tennis Park, on her footwork. "The summer heat always makes it harder to get your feet moving, and I definitely need to work on making sure I'm in position before hitting the ball," she said.

Her improved footwork is helping other areas of her game. "The footwork practice is related to backhand practice because my feet are the main problem when it comes to hitting my backhand," she said. "I have a hard time getting prepared properly to hit a backhand, and that often results in mistimed shots."

Johnson describes her style of play as aggressive. "I love to be at the net, and I try to get there as much as possible in both singles and doubles," she said.

Her parents, Mark Johnson and Choy Man, believe this is what distinguishes their daughter from other players. "Ellie has a very even and calm temperament off the court, but her game brings out a very different side of her," they said. "She most enjoys coming into the net and finishing a point with a good overhead or volley. I think that sets her apart from a lot of girls and has been key to some of her recent wins."

This work has paid off for Johnson, who performed notably in three tournaments last month. She won the consolation semifinals of the North Hills Club Spring Open, won the Cary Spring Junior Open and won the consolation draw of the NC Junior Spring Closed Championships. These three tournaments earned her a 10-2 record for April.

Johnson loves the team atmosphere and also enjoys success playing doubles. In fact, she named her best match of late as one with her partner, Hailey Simon, at the HondaJet NC Closed. The two were unseeded and came across Megan Leonard and Maddie Weber in the semifinals.

"Hailey and I were down 1-5, but we stayed focused and pulled it out in a tiebreak," Johnson said. "I thought we did a good job of not getting rattled by going down so quickly." The two went on to win the finals in the 16s.

Outside of tennis, Johnson enjoys holding leadership positions at her school. As a freshman and sophomore, she acted as a class representative in Student Council. Next year, she will serve as her school's Student Council Vice President.

"I am really looking forward to it," she said. "Student Council provides a structured environment where I can learn to time manage, organize people and lead my grade. I can't wait to take a more active role in the community!"