Nationally ranked tennis player, Ashley Lahey, out for season

Sam Rich
Staff Writer

Nationally ranked tennis player, sophomore Ashley Lahey, has reached to the finals of Super Nationals for tennis twice, and has earned two silver ball trophies, but her tennis career is on hold as she recovers from an injury.

In February, Ashley had surgery for a foot injury and recovered, but she was told she has a fracture in each foot in July from overuse after playing four to five hours a day for the past three years. Currently, she cannot play tennis, so she is not on the Costa team this year.

“I have been training about 4-5 hours a day for the past 3 years and my feet have started to break down,” Ashley Lahey said. “Fortunately, I am a fast healer and am hopeful that I will be injury free and out on the court again very soon.”

In April 2012, Lahey and her mother moved to California from Colorado because she was given the opportunity to train with the United States Tennis Association (USTA) Player Development program in Carson. Initially, her intent was to spend a few months in California to train, then move back to Colorado, but she decided to stay.

“Ashley fell in love with the program, tennis and of course the weather,” Lahey’s mother said. “No more 5am wake up calls to a freezing bubble in the winter.”

Ever since she was six, Lahey has played tennis, but only as a seasonal sport because she also played basketball, soccer, and skied.

“I chose tennis because I love the thrill of competing and fighting,” Ashley said. “I love persevering when I get knocked down and getting out and grinding through challenging workouts and practices even when I don’t feel like it.”

At the moment, Ashley is swimming in the morning and has rehab exercises for her feet in the afternoons twice a week.

“She will start a gradual return to the tennis court in a few weeks, making sure her feet are fully healed,” Lahey’s mother said.

While training with the USTA at the Stub Hub Center, Ashley was practicing six hours a day. Four hours were on the court and two hours were spent improving.

“She may pursue tennis as a professional, but may also attend college where she could play on the tennis team,” Laheys mother said. “However, with this injury, a full recovery is important before she can look to the future.”