Sarah Salinas, senior, was born in Chicago, but has lived in Bolivia, Germany, Mexico, Brazil and Singapore.

She has picked up many cultural norms, such as eating most things like pizza and hamburgers with a fork and a knife. She is now, also, fluent in Spanish, Portuguese and English.

And, during her times around the world, she began playing tennis in Mexico.

She was influenced mostly by her father as he also played tennis. Salinas is also inspired by her favorite tennis player Rafael Nadal, a Spanish player she connected to because he grew up playing on clay tennis courts like her.

She has been playing competitive tennis for five years now.

Back in the U.S., she continued playing tennis and joined the girls tennis team her sophomore year.  

She won Districts her junior year.

When winning a big match, Salinas describes how great she feels and that she “helped the team win, so it’s a victory for all of us.”

She is now ranked fourth on varsity.

She has made many friends on the tennis team including her main doubles partner, Alia Arif, senior. Salinas describes their relationship as a “developed chemistry” and that Alia knows her “probably more than she knows herself.”

Coach Matt Del Pizzo said Salinas has made a great impact on her team. He said she is a leader and had the “most diverse, interesting background of any kid I have ever had.”

He said she had created a calm and happy environment and did everything right.

“She was the first there and the last to leave,” Del Pizzo said.

Salinas said she hopes she “will grow old with tennis.”