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Recruiting Profile
Ware's Recruitment Comes Full Circle at Arkansas Tech
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Zayla Ware (WTN: 25.5) needed to find something to keep her active between basketball season and soccer season when she was younger. Her dad had a half-price coupon for a tennis lesson at Burns Park in North Little Rock, Arkansas.

“I went and I hit the ball over the net for the first time and the coach was like, ‘You need to play tennis.’ I'm like, ‘okay,’” Ware said. “I didn’t know what tennis was before I went to that lesson that day, but I guess it was love at first sight. I started and didn’t stop.”

Zayla Ware Captured Multiple High School Singles Titles
© Contributed Photo

Ware is preparing for at least another four years of competitive tennis. The three-star recent graduate has signed to play at Arkansas Tech, a Division II school in Russellville, Arkansas.

“I never really thought about playing college sports before I started doing tennis,” Ware said. “I kept playing well and once I got to be 16-17, I said this is my sport and I guess I want to actually try to go to college for it. I can't see myself not playing a sport.”

Ware just completed a standout career at Joe T. Robinson High School. Last fall, she captured her fourth straight Arkansas 4A-5 conference singles title and her third straight Arkansas 4A singles state championship. Additionally, Ware helped lead Robinson to the team state title as well.

Arkansas Tech head coach Shaun Wiseman used to coach the junior program at Burns Park and got a chance to see Ware play when she was just starting out.

“It’s been great to watch her progress through the years and I am thrilled to have her in the program now as a college player,” Wiseman said. “I’ve always had a great relationship with her parents and always joked that one day if I got back into coaching at the collegiate level, I was going to recruit her. Well, it happened and here she is. She has a very high ceiling and I’m looking forward to getting her as close to it as we can.”

Ware contemplated going away from home for college before she made her commitment to Arkansas Tech, which is about 80 miles from Little Rock.

“I didn't honestly want to stay in Arkansas because I have been here my whole life,” she said. “But after I toured other campuses and toured ATU’s campus and got to see what life would be like living there with some of my high school friends going there and knowing Coach Wiseman would be there to continue helping me develop, I decided attending there would be great.”

Ware didn’t begin her tennis career with playing in college as a goal.

“It was just something to do to keep me active,” Ware said. “But I kept winning tournaments and getting awards and accolades and recognition, so my parents and coaches helped me realize that I could use tennis to pay for college,” Ware said.

Ware is a black belt in taekwondo, and a white belt in aikido and Brazilian ju jitsu. She was in the choir from sixth grade until she graduated from high school. Her school choir won multiple national awards and was able to sing at Carnegie Hall in New York.

“It was just an elective I picked when I was in middle school and I just never stopped singing,” she said. “I sing a lot just out in the open. I listen to music all the time. I really can’t do anything without listening to music.”

No matter what she’s pursued in life, Ware’s parents have encouraged her to be the best she can be.

“They are the reason I am in this position in the first place,” she said. “From traveling and taking me to different tournaments throughout the country and all the coaching and endless support they’ve given me, I wouldn’t be here without them. My dad studies YouTube videos all the time to try and supplement my training.”

Ware plans to be a biomedical major at Arkansas Tech and then go to medical school to become a dermatologist.

“I really like skincare and anything to do with skin,” she said. “I just thought that was a good path for me.”

Ware is grateful for the built-in community she’ll have when she arrives on campus this fall and gets to meet her new Golden Suns teammates.

“We're staying in a quad together, so I really get to know them better,” she said. “I haven't played team sports in a long time, so I think having a team again will be a lot of fun. I really liked having my high school team, so I think it'll carry over into college.”

 
 

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About Rhiannon Potkey

Rhiannon Potkey is a veteran sportswriter with more than two decades of experience in journalism. Potkey has covered many sports at many levels and has a passion for finding great stories. Potkey has covered the U.S. Open, junior sectional and national events, college conference championships and Davis Cup matches. Potkey is currently Content Strategist for Tennis Recruiting. You can reach Rhiannon by email at rhiannon@tennisrecruiting.net.
 
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