Q & A: Battle of the Sections Players

Khurana: I definitely learned a lot about how channeling energy is super important because it’s really easy to get caught up in the negative aspect.  When you are playing in an individual tournament and lose, you’re out of the match. But if you learn how to channel it towards hyping yourself up and getting your team rowdy, you find a way back in it, and all of a sudden you’re in the match winning the second set; fighting for one of the matches to clinch. I think that is super important because all college is going to be like that - trying to win for something bigger than yourself; trying to win for the team. And Battle of the Sections gives you that preview.

Anderson: It also teaches you to be a leader because before the matches we all come together and get hype. One person usually leads it, and we have a different leader for every day. It teaches you how to be a leader because you have to lead your team in a chant or lead your team on the court or off the court. You just step into the role. 

USTA Texas: Describe the leadership in a little greater detail.

Wasserman: It (leadership) plays a big role. It is college-style because you have 16 and 18 age divisions participating. You have the 16s, who are younger than the guys, and newer to the team. So more of the responsibility falls onto the 18s if they are going to make it a team that works.  I would say the responsibility is largely on the 18s because they are older, they know the event and I am assuming they’ve played it before. So it falls on them whether, in the first couple of days, they are going to take the extra steps to go out and bond over a team dinner or do a couple extra practices. It’s a good opportunity to fill in both roles because then the 16-year-olds get to do that once they get older.

USTA Texas: Who is your section nemesis?

Anderson: I would say it’s more the warm states, like Florida. [...] We lost to New England last year, but they were chill. So I feel like it is Florida. 

Wasserman: I don’t know that we have a set-in-stone rival, at least not that I know of. But I would say that out of my couple of years playing the event, the team that has been the most annoying is Florida. [...] They were going after us … I was really disappointed in Florida.

[All chimed in]: “SoCal…”

Khurana: But they (SoCal) give “us vibes,” like good toxic!

Wasserman: There is a difference. You play fair, and you play hard and you compete and bring the energy, but there is a line that you can’t cross. 

Khurana: I would probably still say Florida too. Maybe some of it has to do with what Blake said, the hot weather. I feel like with the heat comes a persona of having to be a grinder, a battler no matter your play style. And Florida guys kind of have that as well. They fight to the end no matter the conditions. No matter how hot it is, they are always a dog, they are always fighting so it creates a tension in the air that gets everyone going and rowdy! 

Anderson: You know they (Florida) are going to be there until the end and you know we’re going to be there until the end and so you go into the match knowing that it’s going to be a dog fight.

Wasserman: It is definitely the most energy when we play them. 

USTA Texas: This may sound cliché, but did any of you make friends outside of Texas playing this event?

Anderson: I would say not as much because we’re just so bonded as Texas people.

Wasserman: Definitely not in the tournament are you going out of your way to talk to other people, but there is some sort of respect, I guess. Because when the tournament ends, and you go to Kalamazoo, it’s like “Oh, you were at Battle of the Sections and we played your team.” Especially if it was a hard match, or really competitive. I would say there is a respect there that goes both ways.

Khurana: I think there is respect, but also the whole thing about tennis being an individual sport, means that there aren’t really friends. Obviously, there are exceptions, but there is no need for us to go out of our way to make friendships when we have a team of our guys. So most of the time friendships aren’t formed (with other teams), but that doesn’t mean that respect isn’t shown. It’s just kinda how it is.

USTA Texas: How often do you all play with the other guys on the team? How often do the 8 of you get together and practice together?

Wasserman: We see each other at all of the L1s and bigger tournaments. If you don’t live in the same city then not so often. 

Khurana: Some of the guys also train together. I’ve gone down to Austin to train for Clays and practiced with another kid who played the first year. We live 10 minutes away from each other so we hit a lot. But most of the time we just see each other at the bigger tournaments.

USTA Texas: Are there any final thoughts you want to add?

Wasserman: I just encourage people if they have the opportunity to play the event. It’s really fun! It’s a good way to bond with people in your section because you’re always playing against them in sectional tournaments and it can be pretty competitive. But when you play this team tournament, it’s a good opportunity to put that aside and bond and play for something bigger than yourself. I encourage people to play, it’s fun and some of my better memories in junior tennis are from Battle of the Sections. 

Anderson: I agree with what he (Wasserman) said. It’s so competitive here in Texas with everybody going out there and giving it their all. On the first day, you may not like all of the people that are going to be on your team. But towards the end of the tournament or the last day, I feel like everybody is just so close together. When I played, some of the guys I didn’t like as much, but now we are really good friends based on Battle of the Sections, because we were there for each other’s matches, cheering each other on and just standing up for each other. 

Khurana: Going into my first year [in the Boys’ 16 & Under Division], I didn’t really have any Texas tennis friends just because of the nature of Texas tennis. No one really is friends unless you train in the same place. Then I went to the 16s Battle of the Sections, and now I am training at the academy that I used to “have a rivalry with.” I would just want to beat them all, it was personal, but now I look at them all as friends and look at it as a place to train if I need to. 

Wasserman: That’s a good point. I would say that before this (Battle of the Sections), in the 12s and 14s, I didn’t get along with Blake or Mahil at all. 

[Guys chime in laughing]: Definitely not, we all didn’t!!

Wasserman: We all sort of hated each other and there was strong resentment. You wanted to be the one to win all of the tournaments, and it’s 12s and 14s, so there are a lot of emotions flying around. So Battle of the Sections was a good opportunity. I went into 16s my first year not knowing the guys or liking them, to be honest. It took four days at Battle of the Sections, and then boom, it’s done! The past four years were put aside in four days, which speaks to how much you can get accomplished in that environment. 

[All agreed]

To learn more about registration requirements, visit the tournament home pages for Boys’ and Girls' 16s and 18s.