When you are the youngest child in a large family that has all adopted the same hobbies or interests, it is almost guaranteed that you will follow in their footsteps. For Whitney King, that was exactly how she began her journey with tennis.
Whitney came into her family as the youngest of three girls. Her father Keith and mother Amy both played tennis and both of her older sisters grew up playing the sport as well. On top of her immediate family, Whitney’s extended family of 17 cousins all enjoyed and played tennis from a young age, so when Whitney turned four she began to play too. The sport was something that was embedded into the whole family, even into their vacations.
“Starting from when I was really young, my dad and uncles would teach my cousins and sisters and I tennis everyday through family clinics on vacation and throughout the summer as our grandfather would watch us,” said King whose grandfather is still one of her biggest fans, emailing her every match day.
A lot of people may think that summer vacations are for relaxing, but the King family saw it as a time to run drills, train and compete all together in a sport that served as a major connecting factor for them. On every vacation Whitney remembers waking up early and heading to the courts for two hour sessions everyday and those memories, while they may sound exhausting to some, are King’s favorite because that's when tennis became something she wanted to do rather than something she was almost expected to do.
“That was where I truly developed the love of the game and the love of a close-knit community. It was a family thing that we all did that got me started and I fell in love with the sport and the competitiveness of it. To this day, our extended family shows up for each other and that's something I hope to continue as I grow up.”
Whitney’s father didn’t only coach her during family summer sessions while on vacation, he also was her full-time tennis coach from when she started playing at around four years old until she went to high school.
“My dad coached my sisters and I and I owe him everything. He was my first coach until I was around high school and while sometimes it may end in a fight, it was a really fun experience for all of us and he is a really good coach.”
Whitney says alongside her father, she also owes a lot of her success in tennis and in life to her sisters Sydney and Abby. Being the youngest of three, Whitney was able to watch her sisters throughout her whole life and always wanted to be like them, it was something she strove to do at a young age because she looked up to them so much.
“My older sister is five years older than me and she kind of paved the way for me. I always call her my second mom because she literally raised me on the court. When I was in eighth grade I really began to excel in tennis. I was running with the things that everyone around me was pushing me to do and because I loved the sport and really wanted to be like my sister, I decided to quit all of the other sports I was playing and go full on with tennis.”
As Whitney continued excelling and growing up, she knew that she had to focus on the sport that she was best in and loved the most to prepare to play at a collegiate level because in her mind, everyone who went to college played a sport.
“Playing a college sport was never a question, which when I think back on it is kind of crazy. I thought everyone played college sports and didn’t know that it was that rare because I watched everyone in my huge family do it. I mean one of my sisters quit tennis and my parents immediately told her to pick another sport and she went to college for soccer and lacrosse.”
When Whitney was ready for high school, her family and she decided that she would go to a boarding school to compete in a more advanced level of tennis called IMG Academy to help prepare her for being a collegiate athlete.
“Going to a boarding school for tennis when I was in high school was one of the best experiences of my life. I had a different high school experience than most people and it allowed me to grow up faster. I essentially went through college in high school which I am very lucky for because it made college feel almost like a repeat.”
Being at IMG Academy and playing tennis shaped Whitney, but not only because of how it prepared her for the difficult schedule of playing a competitive sport while also being heavily focused on academics.
“I got really injured my junior year of high school and it was one of those moments where I had to think about what my life was without tennis. I was in a really dark place, which a lot of athletes and people my age can relate to, but it was really hard to find people to talk about it with.”
That is when Whitney found her faith, which is something that has driven her life and shaped her as a person ever since.
“If I was describing to someone who I am, I would start with my faith. When I was struggling, I met one of my best friends to this day and she introduced me to my faith and supported me throughout my whole injury.”
The two of them quickly realized that there wasn’t really a community in place that would mentor or guide young girls like them into finding their faith and navigating difficult situations in a more personal setting with true mentors rather than a group atmosphere, so they decided to create one.
“We created this community where we were connecting high schoolers and middle schoolers to mentors that could help them in this world and at first it was called 'Love from Faith'. Once we got to college, we began connecting college girls with high schoolers and so on. We would do events and it became very known that people wanted it and it was a need. That was a really cool feeling because you doubt yourself sometimes when you take risks and try things that put yourself out there, but it really worked for people. We ended up changing the name to ‘The Faithful One’ later on.”
Once the two got very involved at college they weren’t able to keep up with it as much, but Whitney hopes to bring it back once she graduates because it is something that she created out of need and from her heart and knows that it is something that others need in their lives as well.
Finding her faith was a powerful thing for Whitney because it allowed her to also find herself beyond the sport that was ingrained in her basically since she was born. She began to think about her purpose beyond tennis and really prepare for her future.
“I kind of took a step back from the sport and realized what I wanted. At that point, I knew I needed to figure out what my life was going to be. That was really when I started thinking about careers and what I wanted to do post-grad because obviously tennis wasn’t going to always be there. That was when I realized I wanted to go into marketing and brand management and hopefully start my own brand one day.”
This entrepreneurial spirit is another aspect of her life that Whitney credits to her grandfather and father as she watched them be entrepreneurial while growing up. She also knew exactly the type of program that she wanted to have in college, but it wasn’t something that a lot of schools were offering and she struggled because her senior year of high school was during COVID-19.
“I learned what Bucknell was through the major of markets, innovation and design which is a rare major and it was new here when I was a junior in high school. That was everything I wanted to do in one major and I was sold, so then I called the coach.”
Whitney recalls calling the women’s tennis head coach at Bucknell, Tammy Cecchini. She connected with Cecchini as soon as the two began speaking on the phone and instantly knew that that was a coach she wanted to play for.
“I literally got off the phone with Tammy and walked into the kitchen and told my parents that was where I was going. The coach one hundred percent is what drew me here alongside the major that was everything I wanted. I could tell on the phone that Tammy cared about me off the court too and who I was as a person and who I was growing to be and that was a major thing that brought me here because I knew I wanted more out of college than just tennis.”
So, without a single sight of campus Whitney decided to take a leap of faith and commit to Bucknell and to a coach that she believed in with an environment that wasn’t solely focused on tennis above all else. Since she has been a Bison, she has excelled in every aspect of her journey.
It wasn’t an easy start for Whitney when she came to Lewisburg because there hadn't been a whole lot of normal competition due to the pandemic, so it was a weird adjustment to get back into the normalcy of the game while also adjusting to the advancement of playing at a collegiate level.
“Even though it was really weird because of COVID and the level of play was so much different than juniors, there was always a sense of peace around playing here and playing with Tammy and the team. I never felt pressure or expectation and Tammy is just so supportive in the sense of having a mindset that ‘it’s just another day’.”
While adjusting to becoming a student-athlete and getting back into the swing of things in a more normal aspect of tennis, Whitney found herself in front of yet another hurdle.
“I actually ended up getting injured again and that was really hard for me because at first they told me I was gonna be out for two years and several doctors even told me I couldn't play again.”
That was something that was really difficult to go through for a second time, but Whitney had already built up a solid mindset and knew her worth off of the court because of experiencing a similar situation while at IMG.
“No matter how painful it was in high school, I am really grateful that I went through that earlier in my career because it is a huge thing that athletes go through and even though it was hard, I was almost prepared for it.”
Whitney has been able to fight her way through the injury and become a staple of Bucknell women’s tennis over the last four years and she says a lot of that is credited to her head coach.
“Having a coach like Tammy is the biggest blessing I've ever experienced in college because she in the last four years has guided me through this injury where she listens to me and we still manage it to this day. I always tell recruits when they come on campus that Tammy will be your second mother and she has been in every way for me since I came here.”
Through all of the hurdles that she had to overcome since she began playing and building a love for tennis, Whitney has excelled in both aspects of being a student-athlete and she feels that a lot of that is thanks to her sisters whom she watched go through being a collegiate athlete before she had to do it herself.
“My sisters went through all of this and always communicated to me not to take any part of it for granted. I was so blessed to be in that position walking into college sports because I think from day one it wasn't about numbers. It wasn't about the wins and losses. Don't get me wrong, I'm so competitive and I care about winning a lot. I always joke with my dad, I think I hate losing more than I like to win. So, that's a driving factor, just like nature wise, but it isn’t all about that and I love tennis so much because it’s a sport that teaches you so much about yourself and it isn’t always about the actual game.”
While it wasn’t about the numbers for Whitney and she didn’t know this at the time, she has etched her name into the record books at Bucknell. Heading into her final Patriot League Women’s Tennis Championships, she currently ranks 4th all-time in doubles victories with 79, 9th all-time in singles victories with 62 and 7th all-time in combined wins with 141 and she has accomplished this while playing at the No. 1 spot in both singles and doubles.
“In the grand scheme of things I think I would credit all of the numbers to my mindset and who’s around me. I've always found that I play my best and I excel on the court when I am doing it for the people next to me. When I'm playing for joy instead of results or what people think of me, I play better. ”
Whitney feels that a lot of the mindset that she created has to do with everything that she had been through in the past and what she was able to learn from it.
“My journey with tennis has been a powerful tool for personal growth, not only in developing my athletic skills but also in changing my mindset and perspective. From dealing with injuries to losses, the sport itself has changed my day to day. I think that's why I've never looked at stats or wins in college, just because I have a different mindset with tennis now. Tennis is a sport of losing, you can win more points than your opponent and still lose the match, you can also lose your match, but your team can win. It forces you to get comfortable with failure and to treat it as just another opportunity to do what you love and love what you do. “
Every time Whitney takes to the court she gets to re-ignite a passion and love that sparked from family which is something that a lot of people don’t get the chance to do or feel. Beyond the court she takes that level of passion into her academics where she also excels, having a 3.91 GPA.
“Sometimes it can be difficult playing tennis and being focused on school at the same time, but balancing a busy schedule was second nature to me and I always wanted to be somewhere like Bucknell where both sides of that life are important. For me it was all about finding my support group and then leaning on them in times where I need to. It was also about knowing what my priorities are, which I feel like I did.”
Now, Whitney is facing a new challenge in life as she is set to graduate and is ready to enter the “real world”. Whitney will be moving to Chicago to live with her sister Abby and has an internship lined up. She is also currently in the middle of starting up a couple companies including one which she has started with her teammates from Bucknell where they are hoping to solve the issue of a post-grad athlete that loses their sport and their identity with it. The other company is based on community and teaching young women how to not limit the impact of who she believes is God, has on their life.
“I’m working on those two things a lot right now which takes up a lot of my time, but it’s also the most rewarding thing ever.”
Whitney has had a challenging journey of ups and downs through tennis fueled by family and faith, but it is something that she would do all over again in the same exact way.
“I would never change my experience because I am leaving college knowing exactly who I am and what I want to do, which is something that’s very freeing and I'm really excited for the future.”
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