Athlete of the Week: Alex Sae

Alexander Sae (‘26) is the newest Athlete of the Week! Alexander is a senior who plays for Sonoma Academy’s tennis team. Last weekend, he won his fourth consecutive CMC singles tennis championship in straight sets from a field of the best players in the region. Alex’s teammates praised him as hardworking, spirited, and funny, and we wish him the best of luck on and off the tennis court in the future!

How has playing tennis impacted your life?

I’ve been playing tennis ever since I was little, and growing up, I used to practice every day, so I would say the amount of time and effort that I put into the sport has been really impactful in my life. 

What is your favorite part of playing tennis on the SA team?

I would probably say the community, because we all just want to have fun, and it’s a great environment.

How do you balance sports and academics?That’s a hard question, but I guess that it just kind of happens over time, mostly because it’s in my schedule, and you can’t really get around your schedule. 

How do you deal with stress and nerves?

I think the best way to deal with stress and nerves is acknowledging it’s there. Just try to play through it, and knowing that you’re nervous and you’re still playing under pressure normally helps for me. 

What is the biggest life lesson you have learned while playing on the SA team?

I’d say the biggest life lesson I’ve learned is community. I’m really inspired by our juniors, because they always showed up to the games to support us, even if they weren’t playing, organized a really nice senior night, and just generally gave our team a lot of school spirit. I feeI feel like by doing this, they’ve motivated me to show up for people, even if they’re not your closest friends.