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Every year, top tennis players across the country, including those in New Jersey, skip high school tennis. Numerous players opt to focus on training at their respective clubs. They also choose to play in United States Tennis Association tournaments to gain ranking points and a chance at higher Universal Tennis Rating for college recruitment. Some even are homeschooled or attend online school to have more time to train and travel to national tournaments. Not Aria Nina Abalos. Abalos travels from her hometown of Bloomfield to Montclair Kimberley every day for school and to play for the Cougars under coach Bill Wing. Her schedule includes advanced academic classes, practice, dual matches and county and state tournaments. Mixed in there are recruiting visits as a Blue Chip 5-star prospect that any college would be lucky to have on its team. She also makes her way down multiple times a week to Edison to train at the Garden State Tennis Center. Abalos registered a 91-2 record in her four years at Montclair Kimberley, winning three NJSIAA state singles tournament titles. Last month, with her win over Fiona Hu of Pingry in the final, she became just the fourth girl in New Jersey history to win at least three state singles championships. After going undefeated for the third-straight season, her dominance has earned her the 2025 NJ.com Girls Tennis Player of the Year honor. “It means a lot to me. It’s a really big deal,” Abalos said. “To accomplish the same things as the couple others in the past I’ve grown up and watched or have heard their names before, it’s incredible for me to wrap my mind around that.” Abalos reached the state singles semifinals as a freshman, and won every year after that. Yet, the three-time Player of the Year never thought once to skip a season or two. “I wanted to play high school tennis,” Abalos said. “I’ve seen great players play high school tennis and they excelled at the next level.” The knock by many about high school tennis is that the competition isn’t as strong compared to the USTA or ITF tournaments that the best players play in. Your UTR could drop even if you shut out a player rated lower than you. But UTR isn’t everything, and playing national tournaments solo, without support, isn’t everything either. Playing for your hometown or a local school with your friends and teammates add an element unique to high school sports in general. Gaining experience against other strong opponents at various tournaments is great, but if you want to play in college, tennis at that level features dual matches, which is what you play in high school. With high school tennis, you play matches where you rely on your teammates to win as well. You build those bonds on bus rides to away matches, and you get through pressure points with support from the sideline. Not only can you win individual tournament titles, you can also win team championships that are valuable. That is something you cannot replicate any way else. “It meant a lot to me to contribute to this team and play for the school I go to,” Abalos said. “High school tennis is challenging. The skill level this year was incredible. It’s fun. It helps your mentality and you get that team environment. MKA made it amazing for me.” Case in point was the crowd that Abalos had backing her in the state final. Abalos hugged maybe 50 people after her victory, from family members, to club coaches to her teammates she was very excited to see. She even gave a speech. “It meant so much to me. I’m so thankful and appreciative for the support system that I have. My family, my tennis club, my teammates, my coaches and my friends all came out. My dogs were here. I love my dogs. “I have no words to describe it. Win or lose, they’re going to be there for me. My job is to make sure I give 110%.” Abalos will be remembered as one of New Jersey’s best high school tennis players. To go along with her three state singles championships, during her career she won four Essex County singles titles and a Prep B singles crown. Abalos was the clear-cut favorite in almost every match she played, yet she respected every opponent. Oftentimes she applauded and gave them verbal acknowledgment for great shots and points in the middle of the match. The recent Notre Dame commit knew she was good, and she did a lot of winning, but she did it with grace and a love for the game. “It’s incredible,” Wing said. “She works so hard, she’s just a great player and she’s such a good sportsman. She loves to compete. She’s a tremendous student-athlete. One of the greats. She’s special.”
