APPLETON, Wis. — The Fox Cities Racquet Club is home to three generations of tennis players: A grandmother, a father and a pair of sisters.
Rosie Whitlinger is a sophomore at Appleton North High School.
Rosie Whitlinger and her sister, Nomie Whitlinger, practice tennis at the Fox Cities Racquet Club, where their grandma Ruth Whitlinger is the manager and runs daily operations.
Practice has paid off for Rosie Whitlinger; she made it to sectionals last season, but her goal is to win state as a sophomore. She said she knows it won’t be easy.
“I feel like you need to have the right motivation to do it and you need to put a lot of work into it to get good,” Rosie Whitlinger said. “It's a sport that you can just pick up a racket and hit a ball, but you can't succeed unless you actually try and work at your goals.”
She and her sister practice daily. They work on growing their skills and techniques. Rosie Whitlinger said her strengths are her backhand and forehands. She said she still has to work on her volleys.
“There's not much I don't really like,” Rosie Whitlinger said. “I think practice is great. It's always good to get out in practice a bit.”
Rosie Whitlinger said her family’s support has contributed to her success. One of the people cheering her on is her father and coach, Tate Whitlinger.
He won state in doubles tennis at Neenah in 1994 and played for the Wisconsin Badgers in college.
“It's cool just to be able to watch my daughters play at the level they they're… playing at and they've chosen,” Tate Whitlinger said. “If they want to do more, I'm here to help them with that.”
Rosie Whitlinger said she looks up to the numerous tennis players in her family, including her aunts and father. They have all won multiple state titles.
She said she hopes to follow in their footsteps and eventually wants to play on a college tennis team.
“It's really nice to have them always supporting me,” Rosie Whitlinger said. “I don't think I’ve ever had a match where like, not one person is there… I’ve always had one person watching me while playing.”
Rosie Whitlinger plans to continue to train at the Fox Cities Racquet Club, which she calls a second home. And with the help of her family, she is hoping to continue to build on the legacy of a family of tennis champions.