Forst Takes On East Coast's Best at Junior Tennis Tournament

You may not know it from the determined look she wears on her face while on the court, but tennis is nothing but fun for Bronxville junior player Katharine Forst.

The eight-year-old has quickly established herself as one of the best 10-and-under players on the east coast, all while commonly facing opponents that are much bigger and stronger than her. Forst was at it again this weekend, taking the court with some of the areas best players at the BJKNTC Junior Tennis Classic Championships in Flushing, one of the markee tournaments held for players her age this summer. Forst easily advanced past her first-round opponent Sage Zhang of Forest Hills with a 6-0, 6-2 win, before eventually being eliminated on Sunday afternoon to No. 3 seed Brigitte Wu of Jersey City.

“It used to be scary playing against girls that were so much bigger than me, but I started winning more matches this year and don’t feel that way anymore,” said Forst, who will be entering the third grade at Bronxville Elementary School this fall.  

Forst typically plays in one tournament a month during the summer, and says her favorite part of events like this past weekend's is getting to meet all the other competitors. To help get ready for these tough tournament matches, she practices three days a week at Concordia College with coach Brian Simunyola.

“We pretty much work on all my shots during practice,” said Forst. “My favorite strokes to hit are my forehands and volleys though.”

It was first her strong work ethic and not her natural talent that impressed her coach, however, something Simunyola says will help her stand out from many of her peers.

“She’s very enthusiastic and very easy to coach because I know that she’s always going to give 100 percent,” said Simunyola. “There are a lot of players that you need to motivate during practices, but all the effort is coming from her.”

Getting to meet and compete against some of the area's best young players aren't the only perks of playing at these types of high-caliber tournaments, however, as the events are often held at state of the art venues, allowing for players like Forst to step onto the very same courts as their much older tennis heroes. This weekend's tournament – which goes through Monday – is being held at the USTA National Tennis Center, the same place that plays host to the US Open every summer.

“My favorite players are James Blake and Mardy Fish,” said Forst. “I got to watch Blake play at the US Open last year, which was really fun.”

A number of other local players took part in this weekend's BJKNTC Junior Tennis Classic Championship, including Eastchester's Leina Campos (10 & Under girls singles) and Francisco Martin (12 & Under boys singles), as well as Tuckahoe's Keira Tobia (12 & Under girls singles). After defeating players from Flushing, Leonia, NJ, and Valley Stream, NY on Saturday and Sunday, Tobia will face Orangeburg's Maya O'Brien in the tournament's 12 & Under girls singles finals today at 3:30 p.m. All results from the BJKNTC Junior Tennis Classic Championship can be found here.