Ellie Johnson uses a towel hanging on a fence to balance a competitive fire that has fueled both healthy fist bumps after thrilling points and the angry racquet slams following disappointments.
Now, when Greensboro Day’s No. 1 girls tennis player feels the fire burning toward an emotional battle, she walks to the fence behind the baseline, wipes her face off with the towel and takes a few breaths to get herself in the right frame of mind.
The towel ritual has helped alleviate stress and spur confidence for the current senior who, entering Tuesday’s match against Calvary Day, is leading the Lady Bengals to a 9-1 team record. Johnson is 5-2 in singles matches and 6-1 as a member of the team’s top doubles pair.
“As a senior specifically, I’m just trying to have a fun season, not stress over things I can’t control,” Johnson said. “… It’s not physically where I struggle but more mentally. Tennis is such a mental game and you can be beaten by players who are way worse than you if you can’t control your emotions.”
Johnson considers herself highly competitive, even outside of sports. At Greensboro Day, she has been on the high school varsity team’s lineup since seventh grade and rose up through the ranks from the four or five spot to being the Bengals’ primary No. 1 player since her sophomore season, when she was part of a team that finished 12-6 and reached the independent 3A state quarterfinals. As a junior, her team went 16-3 and reached the 3A state finals.
Johnson describes her playing style as aggressive, using quickness on defense and power to put balls away, rather than gaining points through rallies. She began playing tennis at about the time she could walk, calling it her favorite of many sports played as a child.
Johnson’s family includes an uncle, two-time NBA All-Star David Lee, who’s married to Caroline Wozniacki, the former World No. 1 women’s tennis player. As a child, she grew up watching Wozniacki. They formally met attending a game watching Lee play for the San Antonio Spurs.
“She was playing tennis at the time, obviously one of the top ranked in the world,” Johnson remembers. “I knew I was a big fan. I was fan-girling over her, but she has definitely influenced me on the court with how I play.”
Johnson was twice able to watch Wozniacki’s comeback at the US Open, where she reached the fourth round in 2023 and in 2024.
“We went to go watch her at the US Open and then I obviously had my tennis season after US Open because it is in late August, so immediately after watching her at the US Open, seeing how hard of a competitor she was and how she hustled for every ball, it made me really inspired just to give it my all on the court and play like Caroline,” Johnson recalled.
Johnson said she felt inspired having watched her aunt play and said they talk regularly. Wozniacki has told her “You have nothing to lose” and “Go for it,” among other pearls of wisdom.
“She knows I’m a good player and she knows that I just need to calm my nerves and just hunt down every ball and just be a competitor on the court,” Johnson said.
Johnson, who said tennis was one of her favorite sports as a child, said it was cool facing the challenge of playing at the high school level while still being in middle school, feeling the “nothing to lose” mindset playing against older girls she wouldn’t be expected to beat.
Despite experiencing success, having been named all-conference each year since seventh grade, she identified the end of her junior season as a turning point in handling her emotions. Playing Davidson Day, she was winning her match against the opponent’s top player before it was called because Greensboro Day had clinched the dual team state semifinal victory.
“Ultimately, I’ve learned to overcome the fear of losing and I’ve just learned how to play my game and not play anyone else’s game,” Johnson said. “It has really helped me to achieve the wins over my career.”
Johnson was named NCISAA all-state for both tennis and lacrosse last school year and has held leadership roles at GDS, including senior class president and won the school’s history department award as a junior. She also founded the all-girls club Empower Play during her freshman year with GDS volleyball player Alana McGill. The club’s goal is to inspire girls to participate in sports. From a group of five or six, the club’s membership has grown to over 20.
“I founded the club because I realized that at my school, there was a lack of girls being interested in sports and playing sports, so I was really eager and inspired to get girls to play spots and inspire them to not be afraid of outside people or even boys embarrassing them on the field or court,” she said. “So I was really inspired to get girls out on the field and just play sports.”
Cooper’s Question, Presented by PF PlumbingQ: Describe a perfect day off — what activities would you include to make it memorable?
A: I’d still probably wake up pretty early. I would read my devotional and then have a coffee and probably have a good breakfast. And then I would take a super long walk because I love walking. Walking clears my head and it is kind of like like therapy to me. And then I would probably go to the gym and get a quick lift in and then get lunch with my mom or a friend and probably play tennis or play lacrosse, one of the two, we’ll see which I’m feeling that day, then get dinner with friends and be in bed by 10 (p.m.) and go to sleep.
Bryant.roche@greensboro.com
@BRocheSports
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Bryant Roche
High School Sports Reporter
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