Westhampton Beach Tennis Star Rose Hayes Named All-American

It wasn’t too long ago that Rose Hayes was traveling three or four times a week from East Moriches to the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing. The Westhampton Beach rising senior, part of the USTA Player Development Program from age 11 to 13, would often be found completing homework in the backseat with a flashlight on the ride home. She’d even do most of her eating and sleeping in the car. She’d miss sleepovers and birthday parties to compete in tennis tournaments around the country. And even after leaving the program, would end up doing much of the same to and from the Glen Head Racquet Club.

It’s that dedication, coupled with her natural tennis talents, that led Hayes to be named an All-American by the National High School Tennis All-American Foundation.

The singles star, though, did not know she was one of the 25 girls to receive the recognition until hearing the news over a morning announcement at Westhampton Beach High School.

“I didn’t know the criteria or anything for it, so I was kind of shocked — it was a surprise — but I was really excited,” Hayes said. “It feels like the work is finally paying off. Not a lot of people totally understand what I’ve done and what it’s taken to get to this point, and it’s finally rewarding, so it makes me pretty happy.”

She first picked up a tennis racket over Christmas vacation at her grandparents’ home in San Diego. The then-5-year-old was watching her mother and father hitting a ball back and forth, and during a break, grabbed a small juniors racket from a ball cart, walked over and asked the pair if she could hit a few balls.

Hayes’ father, Ray, said his daughter showed immediate hand-eye coordination that caught the eye of a senior champion, Uta Hegberg, an icon in the area as a teaching pro and player. Hegberg was getting ready to give a lesson to some clients on the same court.

“Uta made a not-so-passive comment that Rose showed some natural ability,” the father said, “and it was at that moment the journey began.”

The tennis standout has always been competitive, so she immediately began challenging her sister Grace, who is 18 months older, brother Trevor, who is 20 months younger, and her cousins.

“We just wacked the low-compression balls around — we called them meatballs,” Hayes said, laughing. “I was always very competitive with my siblings and my cousins, so it was always about winning or being better than them. Lots of fun. Good memories.”

Her mother, Maria, who played junior tennis, also touted her daughter’s natural athleticism. Hayes still stood out with just playing backyard tennis until enrolling in the USTA program.

“She was quick to get the hang of it. As she progressed, it was tough to get adequate training — living so far out East all year round was an obstacle because most training sites are in Nassau County,” the mother said. “Almost any appropriate-level tournament she needs to play is 100-plus miles away. It’s kind of ironic that a high school tennis All-American comes from a town that has no public tennis courts.”

The start of the soon-to-be senior’s varsity career began in seventh grade. She represented Bishop McGann-Mercy in Riverhead until the institute closed its doors before the 2018 school year. That’s when she chose to play for Westhampton Beach. As a singles player, she holds four division titles, three consecutive Suffolk County singles championship crowns and five All-State nods. Hayes was a state quarterfinalist in 2018 and 2019, where she finished fifth overall.

“You’re not blessed with a kid like Rose every year. This is an exceptional player,” Westhampton Beach head coach John Czartosieski said. “Her resume is outstanding. She’s in a class of All-Americans who are elite athletes, elite tennis players who devote much of their lives to their game. The sacrifices the parents make, practicing with your private coach, it’s nonstop. And Rose manages to carry a full and challenging academic schedule on top of it.”

In 2018, she was also part of the Hurricanes team that became the first ever from Suffolk County to win a Long Island Championship — Westhampton Beach made it to the same spot in 2019, where the Hurricanes fell to Port Washington. Czartosieski said Hayes’ teammates love working with her. While there was no team tournament this past season, there will be Hayes’ senior season, along with an introductory state team tournament.

“She’s just such a sweetheart,” Czartosieski said. “She gets along with everybody, is real mild-mannered, very kind-hearted. She’s genuine. She’s the real deal. She’s an inspiration to all the girls on the team, for sure.”

Hayes did not want to be homeschooled, so she had to leave the USTA Player Development Program and find another training option. For the past four years Hayes has been working with Adam Lee, a high-performance tennis coach at Glen Head Racquet Club in Nassau County who trains top national players in the country and the highest juniors in New York. He competed for Division I Wake Forest University in North Carolina, where he holds the record for most singles wins in program history.

The dual citizen of England and New Zealand said all he could think about when he first started working with Hayes was how good of an athlete she was.

“Her biggest strength then is what it always will be — her athletic ability,” Lee said. “She gets to balls you wouldn’t see any girl get to, and she has one of the best backhands I’ve seen at her level. She is a fantastic kid, a very focused girl, has put in so much work and has progressed very well. She is always ready to get better, and is what I call a very coachable player. I am not shocked she was named All-American. It’s a fantastic achievement to earn and she deserves every bit of it.”

With an overall record of 55-25, Hayes is currently No. 73 on the Babolat national recruiting list, No. 12 in the mid-Atlantic and second in the state. Her highest national 2021 recruiting ranking is 49. Hayes’ Dunlop RPI is 50, her USTA standing is 56 and her Universal Tennis Rating is a nine. She was crowned an Empire Cup doubles 16s champion in February of 2019 and 2020, USTA Eastern Super Six L4 GS18s champion in September of 2020 and Empire Cup doubles 18s champion in October 2020. She has a 3-5 record against Blue Chips, 4-12 mark against five-star players, is 26-8 against four-star and 17-0 against three-star.

Her limited access to court time when not competing in tournaments also led her to cross train in track to improve her movement. She’s competed at the varsity level since seventh grade, running in the 800, 1,500 and 3,000-meter run. Her personal record in the mile is 5:20.

“I like to think that I can run faster for longer than these other girls. It definitely helps me out on the court,” Hayes said. “I’ve always thought, when things aren’t going your way, you can get on the tennis court and it’s like you’re in this other world where you get to take a break and focus on playing tennis. But I like being part of the track team, too. My dad ran, my brother is a really good runner — it just made sense. It’s also sometimes a way to get my mind off tennis.”

While doing all of this Hayes has taken 10 Advanced Placement classes to-date, will be enrolled in five more her senior year, is an AP scholar and a member of the National Honor Society.

“Rose is so successful because she is a master at time management,” her mother said. “I personally think most teachers do not have a clue what Rose really does or has been doing. She can concentrate and focus well, making the most of her time in and out of the classroom.”

At the beginning of June, Hayes verbally committed to play Division I tennis at Gonzaga University, her first choice.

“I love the school and I can play tennis at the level that I want. It’s all coming together,” Hayes said. “I’m really happy — kind of relieved — that it wasn’t all for nothing.”

She will be perusing a Bachelor of Science in nursing, aspiring to be a nurse anesthetist.

“Ray and I are so happy for Rose, and are excited about her bright future. She deserves it. She has worked hard, and she continues to work hard every day in everything she does,” her mother said. “I’m very proud of Rose for all her well-deserved accomplishments, but am most proud of the kind, happy and responsible young woman she is.”

Her father agreed, adding his daughter has maintained a humble posture during her success.

“I am filled with gratitude watching her compete because she has such poise and a demeanor that compliments her talent,” he said. “I have a little saying: ‘Every day is a gift, every meal a banquet.’ So, make your moves count. Rose has personified making her moves count in her humble, graceful way.”

Looking back at all the time spent travelling, all the dinners on the road, all the effort spent cramming in homework and missing out on social events to compete, Hayes said: “I would do it all again for what it’s panned out to be.”