No matter how many times Trinity Classical Academy’s Dustin Kua plays in the Southern California Junior Sectional Championships, it doesn’t get any easier.
“There really isn’t any comfort,” Kua said of the tennis tournament. “There’s even more competition. Last year I got a good draw. This year I got a good draw. But everyone is good. I’m not going to say there is comfort in this tournament.”
It’s the fifth year Kua is playing in the Southern California Junior Sectional Championships. Last year, he made it to the quarterfinals.
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His focuses for today’s tournament, held at Los Caballeros Racquet & Sports Club in Fountain Valley, is inhaling and exhaling as well as dealing with the heat.
“I’ve been working on my breathing so I don’t get too tense in a match and so I don’t cramp up too bad,” the rising senior said.
“It’s definitely a lot harder now, but when it gets hot, I just think it’s hot for my opponents, too. I just need to focus on my training and outlast them.”
The four-star recruit, according to tennisrecruiting.net, fell in the CIF-Southern Section Round of 16 on June 2 after earning a bye for the Round of 32. Final exams were weighing on Kua’s mind, which affected his performance.
“It’s summer break now and I obviously have a lot less to focus on with school,” he said. “That last loss in CIF knocked me down a bit, but I’ve been practicing a lot and I got most of my confidence back again.”
The Southern California Junior Sectional Championships conclude on June 26. After that, Kua will head to Georgia in early July for the National Level 2 Tournament and the USTA National Level 3 tournament.
