Gabrielle Villegas wins 14 and under national tennis title

Bending down low for groundstrokes never used to be a problem for Great Neck tennis phenom Gabby Villegas.

“I was so low to the ground that it was pretty easy to get down low for them,” she said with a laugh this week. “It was never a problem!”

But then Villegas, as teenage girls often do, had a major growth spurt, and suddenly the kid who was barely measured five feet tall a year ago had sprouted to 5-foot-5.

The ground is a lot farther away now, but Villegas has adjusted beautifully.

The 14-year-old former Great Neck South student and varsity star captured the biggest championship of her young career on Aug. 15. Competing at the USTA 14 and under national championships in Rome, Ga., Villegas dominated all comers in the singles competition, winning seven matches while dropping only one set to capture the crown.

In doubles, Villegas teamed with Kareena Cross to win a septet of matches and the title as well.

In one week, Villegas went from having no gold balls (the award for winning the upper-tier junior tournaments) to two.

“It was a phenomenal week for her, phenomenal results that she worked very hard for,” said Anna Bielen-Zarska, Villegas’ coach at Robbie Wagner Tournament Training in Glen Head.  “She’s a great competitor, not afraid to fight for every ball, and she has matured so much physically and mentally.”

Villegas has been a young tennis star for years, traveling the country to play tournaments, and in 7th grade she and partner Madison Lee made the state championship match in doubles while playing for Great Neck South.

Now moving, as most top young tennis players do, to online schooling, Villegas has been playing 18-and-under tournaments and holding her own as well.

“I’m so proud of her for working hard and improving all the time,” said Villegas’ mom, Tina Stellato, who was with Gabby in Georgia. “She’s doing so well now and the coaching and support from (Robbie Wagner) and the USTA have been great.”

Villegas has flown several times to the USTA national campus in Orlando to train with coach Celeste Frey, and saw breakthroughs this year, including a semifinal showing at an 18-and-under tournament in Rhode Island and making the quarterfinals at the 14-and-under nationals on clay courts and at the prestigious Easter Bowl in March.

“It really feels like it was around March when everything clicked for me again,” Villegas said. “It gave me a lot more confidence going into big tournaments, knowing that I was getting better.”

In Georgia, No. 2 seed Villegas kept steamrolling opponents, keeping her superstitions going with each match win as well: She’d warm up with the same player every day, and eat the same breakfast of protein bars and eggs. She also would wear the same outfits for each match.

“I was very calm and positive this week,” Villegas said.

“She was very Zen,” Stellato added.

“The courts were really slow, a lot slower than usual, so I had to switch my game plan a few times,” Villegas said. “I couldn’t attack as much, and had to be more of a grinder.”

Villegas’ toughest match came in the final, as Daniella Yogumyan took the first set, 7-5, before Villegas rallied to win the last two sets, 6-4, 6-2.

“I just loosened up in the second set, played smarter and got into a better rhythm,” Villegas said.

Bielen-Zarska said she had an inkling this kind of result was coming.

“She came to a lesson right before the tournament and she was SO locked in, I thought, ‘she’s got a real chance to win this thing,’” Bielen-Zarska said.

Fresh off the trophy ceremony a day earlier, Villegas was asked how she plans to celebrate this big win, and gave an answer that would please any New York steak lover.

“Oh, I’m going to Peter Luger’s!” she exclaimed.