Nina Paripovich | Sport

Since the age of 7 years old, I have been playing the game of tennis. 10 years on and I love the game more than ever. My hard work and passion for the game (as well as a bit of luck which is always needed) managed to get me playing all over the world including competing in the World Finals. What I enjoy most about tennis is the brutality of it; the pure challenge of battling it out by yourself in (sometimes) sweltering heats (or even galling winds if you’re playing in Wellington) with no one to turn to but yourself – only the toughest survive. Through my determined nature, I have learned to love the challenge and always compete hard against my components in matches and in trainings as well. Besides tennis, I love listening to music – something I always turn to when I need to get pumped up or to calm down. Depending on my mood, I will listen to anything from R&B to classical to alternative and then, of course, some old school jams as well. I also really enjoy cooking and baking (using whole foods) and sharing this with my friends and family. Recently I have also started getting into reading in my spare time – my favourite author is Kurt Vonnegut. I am in my last year of high school at St Peter’s School in Cambridge and next year I am looking to go over to the states in August to study engineering on a tennis scholarship. One value that I strongly live by is that anyone can achieve anything if they put their mind to it, as ‘everything you need is already inside. Just do it.’ This was imprinted on a Nike top I bought when I was about 12, however, at that point in time, I had not really come to terms with what that truly meant. A few years later I have finally taken in the meaning of this message and its importance for me to live by it as well as its importance for it to be shared with the rest of the world. Nina.