News & Features

My Players

|

My Lists

|

My School

|

My Notifications

Team Home

It's that time of year again! The Countdown to Signing Day takes up a lot of the ink at Tennis Recruiting in October and November, but today we recognize other junior tennis players in the Prince Hot 100.

The Prince Hot 100 lists are published each month, and the October Hot 100 lists feature the one hundred boys and girls who most improved their rankings during the month of September. You can find out more about the Prince Hot 100 - and how the lists are calculated - by reading here.

The latest lists, published last week, are available here:

• Boys' Hot 100
• Girls' Hot 100

We talked to a few of these top performers...

Roundup

Allison McKamey (Paducah, Ky.)

Four-star junior Allison McKamey credits her recent growth to the work she has been doing off the court. She has been focusing on various areas of her physical fitness.

"I've been working really hard on my fitness lately, and I think that is a factor that affected my improved play," she said. "I work with a private trainer and we work on my agility, strength and overall conditioning. I can really tell a difference on the court, especially during long matches."

McKamey believes this off-court practice is very important, especially due to the disadvantages she faces on the court. There are no academies or clubs with tennis clinics where she lives, so she does not often have the opportunity to play with her peers. She mostly practices by herself or with young adults in her community.

"I'd say I don't have as much match play as most of my opponents do," she said. "However, I do think that because of this, I will be able to improve tremendously in college when I have people to practice against everyday."

The four-star player believes her biggest strengths are her mental game and variety. "I always feel confident during big points or during tiebreaks. My game is very well-rounded, I can change it up as needed depending on my opponent," McKamey said. "I can be aggressive when I need to be, but I also know when to mix up my shot selection and wait for my opponent to make a mistake."

McKamey brought these strengths into a match against four-star recent graduate Sarah Hu. The two met at the USTA Hard Court Nationals in August. "At the beginning of the match, I wasn't playing bad, but I definitely wasn't playing my best," McKamey said. "In the first set, I was down 1-4, then 2-5, and then began playing much better to close the gap to 5-6. I saved three set points and ended up winning the set."

Her shot placement came together, winning her the second set and ultimately the match, 7-6(2); 6-1. "We had some long points, and I think the placement of my serve and my conditioning pulled me through to victory," McKamey said.

McKamey ended up winning three matches at the Nationals, and she carried this success into September, earning a 7-1 record for the month.

McKamey has also enjoyed success in high school tennis. She has played on her high school team since fifth grade. McKamey has been part of state championship teams at Lone Oak and McCracken County High School - and she won the 2014 singles title as well. She has been named to the All-State team every year since sixth grade.

Academics are also important to McKamey, who sports a 4.0 GPA and got a 33 on the ACT. Because of this, college is on this junior's mind.

"I definitely want to play college tennis, and it has been a long time dream of mine," she said. "I would like to go to a school that is strong academically and athletically. I'd like to play D-I tennis at a school that competes in a strong conference."