By Robert Wilson
Madison-Ridgeland Academy junior Will Hooks has played tennis as a part time sport for the past several years. And despite not giving tennis his entire attention – Hooks has also been playing on the MRA’s basketball team – he hasn’t lost a match in three seasons for MRA’s varsity and won two consecutive MAIS Class 6A No. 1 boys singles championships.
Hooks goes for a third straight Tuesday at Ridgeland Tennis Center.
Hooks started playing tennis at age eight and played full time until he was in the ninth grade.
“When I started playing, I immediately loved it,” Hooks said. “I played a lot and consistently all the way up until my ninth-grade school year when I burned out of tennis and when I began to care about basketball. For the next two years, I decided to play only tennis in the school season and treat basketball as my priority. I didn’t play any tennis tournaments for those two years and just now recently decided to give up basketball and focus again on my tennis. I am one hundred percent focused on tennis now and have decided that I want to play tennis in college, which involves a lot of training and tournaments.”
The 6-foot-3 Hooks is a good 3-point shooter but getting playing time on MRA’s talented basketball team – which featured three Division I prospects, including Mississippi’s all-time leading scorer and Mississippi Gatorade Player of the Year Josh Hubbard – was difficult.
“I decided that I have the most potential in tennis and I really enjoyed the game again, which is something that I hadn’t felt in a while,” Hooks said.
Hooks had a 12-0 record as a freshman and lost one set to Jackson Prep’s Ivey Yelverton, who is one year older than Hooks. Hooks went 11-0 last year as a sophomore and lost one set all year, also to Yelverton. Hooks has a 9-0 record this year without losing a set. His closest match is to Yelverton, 6-1, 7-5.
“Will is strong from both sides and can use both his forehand and his backhand to open up the court,” second-year MRA coach Jay Stroble said. “Will is about 6-3 and still growing, and he’s gotten stronger through his work in the weight room. This has allowed him to be more physical and dictate some points, when he feels good about his game. Will’s athleticism and tennis IQ are special. It’s great to see Will enjoying tennis again and witness his renewed commitment to working on his game.”
Hooks is scheduled to play Tuesday at 1 p.m. in the semifinals. Hooks could possibly play Yelverton in the championship. Hooks in the No. 1 seed and Yelverton is the No. 2 seed.
After Tuesday, Hooks is hitting the junior tennis circuit hard this summer. Because Hooks hasn’t played in any junior tournaments over the past several years, he doesn’t have a ranking. When Hooks was playing tennis fulltime, he had a No. 47 national Tennis RPI rating and a No. 80 national recruiting rating in 2019 for his age group, according to Tennis Recruiting Network.
Hooks grew up in North Carolina and moved to Madison at age 13. While living in North Carolina, Hooks was the state champion for the South Carolina Open in 2015, was the regional champion and consolation champion at the Little Mo tournament, a national event, in 2014. Two of the pros he worked with were former ATP Tour champions Tim Wilkinson and Johan Kreik. Hooks has both quoted in Hooks’ bio.
“Will Hooks plays like a young Agassi,” Kreik said. “He’s all-court player who has an exceptional and innate ability to read the ball and see the court geometry.”
“Will Hooks has a natural talent that very few players have,” Wilkison said. “His instincts of reading the ball and placement are that of top players.”
Rave reviews from two very talented pros. So Hooks has potential, now he has to put in the time. That’s coming, Hooks said.
“My plans for this summer are to play in as many tournaments as I can,” said Hooks, who has been working with Reunion Director of Tennis Justyn Schelver since Hooks moved to Mississippi. “I’m going to stay focused. I’ve decided that I want to take my game to the next level.”
