Wake Forest Athletics
Getting to Know Women's Tennis' Kayla Duncan
3/5/2012 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
March 5, 2012
In her second season at Wake Forest after transferring from TCU, senior Kayla Duncan has established herself as one of the top women's tennis players in the ACC. The Winston-Salem native has played No. 1 singles for the Demon Deacons this season and is currently ranked No. 66 nationally. WakeForestSports.com's Maggie Cancelosi sat down with Kayla to talk about tennis, coming home to Winston-Salem and why she at one point carried seven tennis rackets with her to the courts.
Q: Who has been your biggest inspiration during your past two years at Wake Forest?
A: I'm from Winston, so having my parents here has been amazing. The main reason why I transferred back home was to be closer to my dad, and having my parents here supporting me, especially with it being my senior year and having them at almost all of my matches has been great. They love it, and I love having them here. Also, my coach from juniors is here at the Indoor Tennis Center, Tamer Hegazy, and he's known me since I was twelve years old. He's obviously a huge part of my life and a big inspiration as well and helps me with so many things whether it's tennis or personal. Everybody at Wake Forest - my coaches, Jane Caldwell and Dwight Lewis, my team--everybody here is so supportive. I love them all, and they've been there for me through everything.
Q: Was it a tough decision to transfer?
A: Transferring was really hard. I loved TCU, and it's a great school, but being closer to my family, especially my dad, was a huge part of it. Being here was a great decision; I couldn't have asked for a better school. The academics are obviously fantastic, and I love my team more than anything. Even though it was hard to transfer and say bye to all my friends there, I'm definitely confident that I made the best decision that I could.
Q: How would you describe the team's dynamic?
A: Well we have six girls, which is tough because one injury or one problem means that you're down to five players. We have three upperclassmen and three underclassmen. We all get along perfectly, and we love hanging out with each other. We all push each other and strive to get better every day.
Q: Does the team have a motto or inspirational theme for the season?
A: We're just trying to stick together and fight. We've had a lot of injuries throughout the season which unfortunately which has cost us some really close matches. We're just trying to fight, keep together and keep it going as best we can.
Q: Do you find yourself playing against other girls that you met at a younger age while competing in junior tournaments?
A: When we were playing at Virginia, I played against my really close friend from juniors, Lindsey Hardenbergh, and it's always interesting playing your closest friends from juniors. Her parents were there, and they gave me a hug and said "We're so proud of you, but we're sorry that you beat our daughter." It's just things like that with people that my family is really close to, and it's just part of the sport. You expect yourself to go out there and compete, and afterwards you're completely fine. You win, you lose, and you're still friends at the end. It's just funny going out there and playing your friends, because you think "we used to do this all the time."
Q: Do you rely on scouting reports before matches?
A: Always. I'm very much into looking at my opponents and seeing who they have played, beaten and lost to. It doesn't really mean anything in a way, because I still have to go out there and play my game and do what I need to do. Since I was young, I've always liked to look up my draw and know what's going on and know who I'm playing whereas some people don't want to know who they're playing and just want to go out there and play. It freaks some people out, but for me I've always been interesting and it's cool to know.
Q: Do you think that tennis is a more mental game than other sports?
A: I think all sports are very mental, but especially with tennis--it's not a contact sport. Everybody always says it's 90 percent mental and 10 percent physical. Yeah, somebody has to be in really good shape to go through a four-hour match and it will come down to that, but a lot of it is also mental. You have to keep on pushing through. For me, it's probably 100% mental because you're out there by yourself and it's always in your head what's going on. You can mess up a shot just because you're telling yourself that it's bad when nothing's wrong with it. Mental toughness is a big factor.
Q: Do you like receiving coaching during a match or do you prefer to stay in your own zone?
A: I should probably prefer to stay in my own zone and work it through myself, because when you look at the Pro Circuit and then when I was in juniors, you don't have coaches out there during a match. You need to be able to do it on your own, but since I've come to college I've become dependent on coaches talking to me. I'll look at our assistant coach Andy [Roland] and ask him "what am I doing on this shot, why am I missing this shot?", and it's nice when he tells me what I'm doing wrong. Having someone tell you what you're doing wrong, even when you know what you're doing wrong, can help you a lot.
Q: If you could be a Division I athlete in any other sport, what would it be and why?
A: I would probably pick soccer, just because of the fact that it's a team sport, and I've never been a part really of an actual `real' team. Tennis is a team, but it's based off of individuals, whereas soccer is a huge team effort and everybody is together. It just looks like a lot of fun. It's probably so hard, and I probably wouldn't be able to do it because I would probably die after running for the first 20 minutes and would ask for a break. Everybody who plays soccer looks like they have so much fun out there, and it looks like a cool sport to play.
Q: Do you check the ITA rankings a lot, and if so, does it affect your game?
I don't think it affects my game, but I definitely check it and I find it interesting. I know so many of the girls from the U.S. and a couple of girls from outside of the U.S. It's funny to see some girls who are ranked really high who weren't top in juniors and then see girls who were dominating in juniors drop off. It's cool to see your friends, where you're at and where you team is at. To get into the NCAA tournament, you need a certain ranking, and you look at it and wonder if you're close, how much further you have to go and where your opponents are ranked. I don't think I get caught up in it, but I find it interesting to look at the stats.
Q: How many tennis rackets have you accumulated over the years?
A: Oh boy. I have three rackets, but when I was at TCU I had a Prince racket and I had seven of them. In juniors, I was sponsored by Prince and I had multiple rackets--I usually got a new one each year. At TCU, they gave me new rackets because mine were probably over a year old and were starting to get dead, so they gave me some more. Over the years, I just kept getting rackets and it piled up. By my sophomore year, I had seven rackets, but probably only four of them were decent--I just kept the other three in case it was an emergency.
Q: How have the new outdoor tennis facilities affected the image of Wake Forest tennis?
A: Having the new facility is fantastic. From a recruiting standpoint, I don't understand why people wouldn't want to go here because we have unbelievable academics and one of the top facilities in the country now which is great. Also having the Winston-Salem Open has been an extra benefit and it gives Wake recognition from a tennis standpoint. I think that a lot of people will come out to matches now and support the teams, and I'm so thankful for the new facility--it's one of the best.
Q: Who are your favorite professional men's and women's tennis players?
A: On the men's side, definitely Rafael Nadal--I've loved him forever. I love his passion and dedication to the sport. Everybody on the men's and women's tour shows dedication, but he just has that extra something. He plays every point like it's the last point, and he doesn't take anybody for granted. I just love how humble he is, and overall he's my favorite. On the women's side, it's a little tougher because I don't usually watch women's tennis as much. I like watching men's tennis so much more than women's, but I would probably say Caroline Wozniacki. She seems like a really nice girl, she's very dedicated, works extremely hard and fights for everything when she plays. I really hope that she wins a major soon because I think she deserves it more than anybody right now. Kim Clijsters-- there are so many out there that work hard and you just have to look up to because they've all put their lives on the line and given up so much to put themselves in the position that they're in.
