Grade 10 student serves Love for tennis and the NSS

The National Sport School (NSS) is one-of-a-kind across Canada, and the same can be said for tennis phenom Elicia Lin. 

Taking command of the court at the Fischer Indoor Junior Nationals last month in Toronto, the 15-year-old NSS student won the U18 singles competition and finished second in the doubles division. 

Then, just two weeks later, Lin was part of the Canadian contingent at the Billie Jean King Cup Juniors qualifiers in Montreal. The Red and White took down Mexico on the final day of round-robin play, with Lin’s straight-sets victory clinching her team’s upcoming trip to Santiago, Chile, for the Finals in November. 

While her high level of play has resulted in plenty of travel, Lin’s tennis start—and introduction to the NSS, for that matter—can be traced back to two members of her local household. 

“I started (playing) when I was five because of my brother, and that really got me into the sport,” explains Lin, whose older sibling and occasional doubles partner remains a tennis ace himself in his Grade 12 year. Both NSS pupils are coached by their father. “I then started playing

Elicia Lin recently won the singles division at the U18 Junior Nationals tennis tournament as a 15-year-old phenom

In stringing together the accomplishments she has thus far, Lin has found the sweet spot when it comes to reserving time for her sport without sacrificing her schoolwork.  

“A lot goes in to playing competitive tennis at my age,” Lin says. “I have training for 20 hours a week, not including fitness. There is a lot of stuff to work on physically with on-court practice. It’s really time consuming, but it’s worth it when the results come.” 

But that doesn’t mean it’s all fun and games when she’s not finishing forehands as one of the country’s most promising young players. 

“During tournaments, I obviously have to prioritize tennis over school in those moments, but any time I’m not playing, I’m really trying to focus on school because I don’t want to get too behind,” says Lin. “Obviously, academics is No. 1 compared to sports, so I try my best to stay in contact with my teachers and really try to stay on top of my schoolwork.” 

With dreams of someday turning pro, Lin would also like to study physiotherapy and receive her Master’s degree somewhere in The Golden State. 

“I want to go to university or college for tennis in the United States, ideally Division I,” says Lin, who currently trains in Calgary at Aforza, the largest public indoor tennis club in Western Canada. “Right now, I’m focusing on schools in California because that’s where a lot of the competition is.” 

But before looking too far into the future, she serves up some insight for incoming NSS classes and finishes with an overhead smash. 

“The piece of advice I would give to a future NSS student is to go after your dreams and follow them no matter what,” encourages Lin, who notes that her own NSS experience has exceed her expectations. “Never give up, because if you can put a lot of work into it, it can happen. And make sure to prioritize school before your sport.”