The Wins Keep Coming for Tennis Ace Chirico

The tennis world is starting to take notice of Harrison native Louisa Chirico.

After establishing herself as the third ranked Girls 16-and-under player in the east coast, Patrick McEnroe, former Davis Cup captain and brother of legendary player John McEnroe, invited her to take part in his training camps at the USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing.

“I had to tryout first and then go to callbacks, so it was a thrill to finally make it in,” said Chirico. 

The clinics she takes in Flushing with some of the top players in the region isn’t the only time that Chirico spends on the tennis court. Once her practices end, she heads home for more training under the watchful eye of her private coach, Carl Thorsen.

“We’re working on improving all of my shots technically, and also thinking about tactical situations and developing a game where I can transition more into the net,” said Chirico.

Between the minimum of three hours per day on court and rigorous classes as a freshman at Rye Country Day School that include honors geometry and Chinese, her schedule would be enough to intimidate the most seasoned of workaholics. However, Chirico takes it all in stride and said she’s grown accustomed to the workload.

“Once you work out a schedule and figure out how much homework you have, it’s not as difficult as it sounds,” said Chirico. “I’ve gotten used to it at this point.”

After the school week ended, Chirico spent over 30 weekends last year competing in some of the biggest tournaments around the region. She racked up nine singles titles throughout 2010, more than any other player in her age group, and reached the finals at two other events.

Introduced to the sport by her parents at the age of 9, Chirico said that none of this would have been possible without the support of her family.

“My parents have been incredibly helpful with my tennis,” said Chirico. “They’re involved  in that they come to all my matches and are very supportive, but they also just let my coaches do the work with me on the court and don’t interfere with that.”

When she’s not practicing, Chirico said she enjoys listening to music and relaxing with her friends, both in the tournament world and at Rye Country Day. However, Chirico said that she ultimately has much loftier ambitions for her tennis career.

“My main goal is to turn pro,” said Chirico. “I’m certainly open to playing college tennis, but I’m really just trying to see where everything leads with my tennis for now.”

Chirico said she is currently getting ready for the Easter Bowl in April, a Super National junior tournament in Rancho Mirage, CA.