Senior Jimena Menendez has been playing on the NYU women’s tennis team for four years and as captain for two. She recently became the first Violet to win the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Northeast Regional Singles Championship for two consecutive years.

While double-majoring in computer science and Spanish and Portuguese, Menendez has posted a winning record in each of her three years so far on the team. Last season, besides winning the ITA Regional Singles Championship, she earned First Team All-UAA honors, topped the NCAA Region II rankings and ranked 25th in the ITA rankings, all as a singles player.

In an interview with WSN, Menendez discussed how “hard work pays off” and the mental switch she made during her sophomore year that set her up for success.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

WSN: How did it feel to win two consecutive singles titles at the ITA Regionals? 

Menendez: It was bittersweet. I had to play my best friend, Isabella Hartman, in the semifinals and my teammate, first-year Victoria Wang, in the finals. It was really tense. 

Last year was more shocking to me because, in previous years, I had lost in the second round, and I hadn’t really done that well. And I didn’t have to play a single teammate of mine, and it was just amazing.

WSN: How was it playing against your teammates, especially in such high-stakes matches?

Menendez: Since tennis is originally an individual sport, I think it was one of the harder things coming into college thinking, ‘Now I have to play it in a team dynamic.’ There’s always going to be a time where we have to play one another. We learn to be respectful while imagining that we’re not playing against our teammates. I don’t worry so much about what they are going to think of me because we are both going to be tense, but we’ll get over it at the end of the match.

WSN: How did you get to this point in your tennis career?

Menendez: I was immature my first and second years, and my game reflected it. I didn’t perform as well as I knew I could have. My sophomore year, I lost during the second tournament. I worked my butt off the previous summer, and losing so early just hit me. That was the moment I realized that I only had two more years left of college and something needed to change. I really matured and started playing a whole better game.

WSN: How is training going? Are you doing anything different in training that you haven’t done in your previous years?

Menendez: I’ll occasionally go for a run or do yoga, but practice takes a large chunk of our week. We have lifts twice a week and practice four days a week from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. It’s hard doing practice late at night, especially after four years. The effects are hitting me now, but some things are just out of our control. It is a nice way to blow off steam at the end of the day, though.

WSN: Besides physical training, are you doing any mental training?

Menendez: I find it important to train mentally — it’s just as important as physical training. It’s hard to be alone on the court. It’s either you win or you lose. In the past, when I would be the deciding match for the team — the clinch — and I lost, it was a really hard feeling. 

Tennis is such a mental game. If you don’t have a clear head, it’s going to reflect on the court. Sometimes I’m good at focusing, but then all of a sudden, I’m thinking about what I’m eating for dinner. The biggest help for me is talking to my friends.

WSN: What are your goals for your last year?

Menendez: I know it sounds generic, but I want to leave my mark, whether that’s doing something memorable for the girls on the team or memorable to the program. Long term, I want to leave a good impression and make sure the team is for the better. 

WSN: What do you think is the greatest challenge athletes face today?

Menendez: I think a lot of athletes face confidence issues. You can have all the tools and do amazing in practice, but when it comes to game day you still have to trust yourself at the moment. You also have to have the right level of confidence. You can’t walk in with too much or else you won’t be cautious, but you can’t walk in with too little either.