Andover High Tennis Star Signs with Southern Florida

Andover resident Olivia Spagnuolo has a schedule that would intimidate just about anyone. 

In addition to challenging courses as a senior at , Spagnuolo heads to Cedardale Health and Fitness in Haverhill every day, spending hours on the tennis court as she works on all parts of her game. When the school week ends, she spends over 20 weekends per year traveling around New England as she competes in some of the biggest junior tournaments in the region. 

Her hard work is paying off. In addition to being ranked among the top 10 junior players in Massachusetts, Spagnuolo graduated several months early from Andover High this past January and has recently signed a letter of intent to join the women’s tennis team at Southern Florida College.

“I was looking at a lot of schools around New England like Quinnipiac and UConn, but I’m not a fan of cold weather and decided to visit my sister at Florida Southern since she goes there,” said Spagnuolo. “I went to watch one of their practices and it was amazing to see how good everyone was. It felt like I could take my game to the next level there.” 

Spagnuolo was introduced to the game at the age of four by her father, and began enrolling in USTA tournaments by the age of 7. Instead of enrolling in 10-and-under events, she decided to join her older sister and compete in 12-and-under tournaments. These matchups were against girls who were much older and stronger than her. 

She struggled early on, but Spagnuolo began racking up the wins and ultimately reached the top 10 in every age division she competed in. Throughout her journey, her father has remained her primary coach on the court. 

“It can be tough having your dad as your coach,” admits Spagnuolo. “I can get mad at him on the court sometimes, but it ultimately works out well because it’s nice to have a familiar face with you and he always has my best interest at heart,” she said. 

Spagnuolo said she is currently working on strengthening her all-court game by improving her returns and working on finishing returns at the net. After a brief trial with a more power-centered baseline game, Spagnuolo said she has learned to accept her strengths on the court. 

“When I started trying to hit the ball harder, that's when I started to have a slump in tournaments,” said Spagnuolo. “I’m a fairly small girl, and hitting the ball that hard wasn’t something I could sustain over the course of a match. Because that kind of game is so prevalent in women's tennis, I think it’s actually helpful to mix up the pace like I do because it’s not something that a lot of girls see.” 

Spagnuolo played on the tennis team at Andover High School before graduating four months early in January. She said that she hopes to spend the next several months improving her tennis abilities while also trying out some new experiences. 

“Because so much of life was focused on school and tennis, I had to make alot of sacrifices,” said Spagnuolo. “I’m looking forward to gaining some work experience and volunteering, and also becoming more involved with my church,” she said.