Arjith Jayaraman was seven years old when he first fell into the sport of tennis, but little did he realize just how significant the game would become to his everyday life.

  Jayaraman is a junior at Granite Bay High School who has followed his passion for tennis for a major chunk of his life. He began competitively playing at the age of 9, and now currently trains at JMG Tennis Academy at Arden Hills, or  “one of the best tennis academies in the country” as Jayaraman said. In addition to his rigorous training and national competitions, Jayaraman competes as a part of GBHS’s own tennis team.

  A week in the life of Jayaraman includes around six to eight hours of training everyday. And that’s just during the school year.

  “Last summer I had a rigorous schedule of going to practice from six A.M. to six P.M., and that really elevated my game to the next level.” said Jayaraman.

  He plays alongside the top players in the country at JMG Tennis Academy, and he himself is ranked 24th in the state and reported that he reached his highest national ranking in the 16s category at number 81.

  Outside of his individual tennis career, Jayaraman is a major contributor to GBHS’s tennis team, where he isn’t able to play all matches, but he plays as many matches as his hectic schedule can accommodate.

  Some major accomplishments for Jayaraman regarding tennis also include his participation in the Northern California Team.

  “[The Northern California Team] was a team of 6 boys and girls, and I played when I was 14, 16, and this year I’m playing for the Northern California National Team in the [18 year-old division].”

  However, it hasn’t been an easy road for Jayaraman to reach so much success.

  “My biggest struggle has always been my mental aspect. When I got injured last year it took a lot of tournaments for me to get back into winning and playing well,” he said.

  In dealing with these obstacles, Jayaraman added, “Going into every match I like to read a note that I write that basically tells me to always be intense and show my willingness to work harder than my opponent no matter how I play. Using that, I set a positive outlook which has helped me thus far.”

  Jayaraman also said that he felt his biggest success was his work ethic. His work ethic hasn’t gone unnoticed by many prestigious universities, either.

  “I plan to play Division 1 college tennis at the best college I can get into using my grades and tennis combined. The most important thing for me that I look for in choosing a school is compatibility with the coach and team, how well the school fits me, and how much I will get to play,” said Jayaraman in respect to how tennis would play into his future.

  Though tennis has been a huge part of his life, Jayaraman said that he essentially has no interest in taking his tennis career to the professional level after college because it “isn’t in my best interest for the future.”