QHS sophomore is Reddy to tackle sectional tennis field, fight for spot in state tournament

QUINCY — Anika Reddy talks about her game in the same manner she handles forehands and backhands.

Steady and straight.

“If you get overconfident, you start missing shots and hitting shots out that could have been winners,” said Reddy, the No. 1 singles player in the Quincy High School girls tennis team’s lineup. “If you get too low on confidence and start thinking, ‘Oh, I’m going to lose this,’ then I am going to lose this. You have to keep a steady mindset.”

It has Reddy eyeing a shot at making the state tournament field.

The sophomore will join her teammates at the Class 2A Belleville West Sectional, seeded third in the singles bracket behind Edwardsville’s Katie Woods and O’Fallon’s Isabell Wells. The Blue Devils’ No. 1 doubles tandem of Lily and Phoebe Hayes are unseeded.

Coming off winning the Western Big 6 Conference singles championship as the No. 3 seed and being named the conference MVP, Reddy has her sights set on reaching the state tournament, which begins Oct. 19 in the Chicago suburb of Buffalo Grove.

“I really want to go,” Reddy said.

She’s playing like belongs there.

Reddy lost only five matches during the regular season and beat some top-flight competitors, including Moline’s Calla Graham, who is seeded third in the Peoria Richwoods Sectional, and Columbia Rock Bridge’s Amali Noel Ramesh, who lost in the Missouri Class 3 state quarterfinals.

The victory over Ramesh opened Reddy’s eyes to what was possible.

“That girl was amazing. After winning that match, it felt like an accomplishment in itself,” she said. “If I can get those wins, why shouldn’t I go to state?”

That confidence comes with a year of maturity and growth. Reddy played in the six-player varsity lineup as a freshman and lost in doubles at sectionals with fellow sophomore Mary Dodd. Throughout the offseason, she worked improving her shot selection and pace.

“This year I’m going for a lot of my shots,” Reddy said. “Last year, I would rally and not really hit it as hard as I possibly could have.”

She’s confident she can make shots now.

“My mindset has improved,” Reddy said. “Last year, going into matches, even if the player I was playing wasn’t as good, I’d be like, ‘Oh, man, this is going to be rough for me.’ Now I can look at matches and be like, ‘I just need to play my game and I’ve got this.’”

Being more in the spotlight has forced her to be more resilient, too.

“I’m always center court for the first match that people want to see,” Reddy said. “So, yeah, there is pressure, but it doesn’t really get to me.”

Following her lead and the presence of seniors like the Hayes twins and Amelia Willing, who was Reddy’s doubles partner, the Blue Devils went 10-4 in duals and finished second at the WB6 championships. 

“It shows how well we work together and how great we are as a whole,” Reddy said.

Success at sectionals is the next step.

The Blue Devils just have to be Reddy and Willing to chase their state dreams.