Angel Walia, state tennis champ from Herricks: 'This is the perfect way to end it'
Herricks coach Joy Solomon, left, congratulates Angel Walia after she won the state girls tennis singles state championship at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on Oct. 30, 2024. Credit: James Escher
Angel Walia had been a part of any conversation regarding the best high school girls tennis players on Long Island. And at the end of her final match with Herricks, she stood as the very best in the state.
Walia capped a superlative career with a scintillating three-day run in the state public school singles tournament at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Queens. The senior was seeded sixth in the 32-person draw and knocked off the top three seeds in her last three matches, completing the feat with a 6-2, 7-6 (4) triumph over top-seeded Olivia Dartawan of Niskayuna in the title match.
A singular accomplishment on its own, it also brought redemption after a disappointing third-place finish in the Nassau singles tournament 10 days earlier.
“This is the perfect way to end it,” Walia said. “I was hoping that I could win counties and that didn't happen. So I just worked hard that whole week and fixed my mentality. I reminded myself that this is who I am [and] I could do it.”
With surprising power from a small frame and great court quickness, the 5-3 Walia didn’t drop a set in the state tournament.
And her strong makeup was on full display in the championship match, first as she won the final four games in the first set and later when she held off a formidable comeback effort by Dartawan.
In the ninth game of the second set, Dartawan fought off a match point and then broke serve. She also won the next two games to lead 6-5 before Walia got it to a tiebreaker. There, Walia trailed 4-1 before reeling off six straight points to take the title.
“It means a lot to me because I’ve been playing for six years and this is my last year in high school tennis, so I really wanted to end it on a good note,” Walia said. “I think this is the best note I could possibly go out on.”
Roger Rubin returned to Newsday in 2018 to write about high schools, colleges and baseball following 20 years at the Daily News. A Baseball Hall of Fame voter since 2011, he has covered 13 MLB postseasons and 14 NCAA Final Fours.