Frances Guerra, left, returns a ball in this undated photograph. (Robert Guerra)
A 9-year-old girl from Misawa Air Base aims to compete in Japan’s nationwide amateur tennis tournament this summer after claiming the Aomori prefecture championship in her age group last year.
Frances Guerra, a third-grade student at Sollars Elementary, a Defense Department school at Misawa, picked up a racket at age 5 during the COVID-19 pandemic. Today, she is ranked No. 1 in the Aomori prefecture, No. 21 in the Tohoku region and No. 188 nationally in the under-12 girls-single category, according to the Japan Tennis Association’s website.
“I like tennis because I can play against the big kids,” she wrote in an email Monday to Stars and Stripes. “It doesn’t matter how old you are if you work hard.”
Frances Guerra and her tennis coach, Makoto Tsubura, posed in an undated photograph. (Robert Guerra)
She is scheduled to compete at the regional Tohoku Tournament in Sendai city on Saturday and Sunday. A victory would position her to qualify for the National Junior Tennis Championships, part of the Japan National Tennis tournament, scheduled May 14-17 in Kashiwa city, Chiba prefecture.
“[Guerra] came in first place overwhelmingly in Aomori’s U12 tournament, where 24 players participated. She won convincingly with just 9 years,” Makoto Tsuburai, Guerra’s coach at the Hachinohe Royal Tennis Club, said by phone Wednesday.
“With the right coaching and with her appropriate attitude, she can go even higher,” he said.
Guerra joined the Hachinohe club about a year ago, according to Tsuburai.
“My first impression was that she has a very careful and skillful way of hitting the ball compared to other third-graders,” he said. “What stands out is her movement; she never gives up in rallies and exchanges — this is definitely a requirement to be able to compete in both Tohoku and nationwide.”
Guerra has won three out of four tournaments she has played so far in Japan. Her only loss was in the Hachinohe Open, her father, Navy Senior Chief Petty Officer Robert Guerra, said in the email.
“She did all the qualifying and winning when she was 8,” he wrote. “The Tohoku tournament will be the first one she will be playing as a 9-year-old.”
Sollars’ principal, Hank LeFebre, called the young player “a fantastic ambassador” for the school in a statement emailed Wednesday to Stars and Stripes by Department of Defense Education Activity-Pacific spokeswoman Miranda Ferguson.
“[Guerra] really makes all of us at Sollars Elementary proud,” LeFebre said. “She’s not only an impressive tennis player, but she carries herself with such kindness and determination. … We’re all cheering her on as she heads into the Tohoku Opening.”
Guerra says she wants to be a professional tennis player when she gets older.
“I want to win. I want to be the best that I can be,” she wrote. “It would be nice to qualify for the Nationals and see what I can do.”
Stars and Stripes reporter Keishi Koja contributed to this report.
