Safina Blachly '24 Recruiting Profile

Currently, I am a junior in high school and plan on playing competitive college tennis. I attend St. David High School and Smith Perry Tennis Academy. Both are located in southern Arizona. In school, I excel in leadership programs, such as being class president last year and student government president next year. It is a goal of mine to help unexperienced kids improve and find the fun in tennis, so I do free community coaching on the weekends. Besides travling around the USTA Southwest Region playing tennis, I also love learning how to run tournments, so I have spent over 40 hours just this year being a USTA volunteer and managing tournment desks. My game is based around switching between a big lefty kick serve and a flat, harder serve, my lefty forhand and backhand, and amberdexturious genetics. In tennis, being a lefty gives me an edge to my game, and when I can't reach balls, I unconsciously switch hands. Because of this, I have a full set of left-handed shots plus a consistent right-handed forehand, slice, and serve. Even though I win a lot of the matches I play, I am always looking to play at a higher level and grow better and better through advice from my coaches and hours of personal practice. On weekends, to pay for my expenses, I work 15 or more hours and still find time to train and play in upcoming tournaments.