"Abi played a really great match against Alexa. They’re both incredible players and that was excellent tennis being played. She got more comfortable as the match went on and I think if she saw her again she’d have more of an expectation of what she’s up against and how to prepare for it. It was closer than the overall score would let on. Six total deuces, only two bounced our way.”

—Townies boys’ and girls’ head tennis coach Slade Sharma

Townies tennis star Abigail Ellison fell to first seeded Alexa Clark of South Kingstown (6-2, 6-2) in the quarterfinals of the RIIL Girls Tennis Singles Championship on Saturday.

Clark went on to beat Bianca Presciutti, of LaSalle, in the championship.

It’s been a stellar year for the East Providence first singles player. Ellison, a junior, won the Division 2 State Championship earlier this month and hadn’t lost a match all season until running into Clark.

“Abi played a really great match against Alexa,” said Townies boys’ and girls’ head tennis coach Slade Sharma. “They’re both incredible players and that was excellent tennis being played. She got more comfortable as the match went on and I think if she saw her again she’d have more of an expectation of what she’s up against and how to prepare for it. It was closer than the overall score would let on. Six total deuces, only two bounced our way.”

Ellison obliterated her first two opponents in the state tournament to reach the quarterfinals round. She pounded Genevieve Raposo of LaSalle (6-0, 6-3) with winners in the first round and then easily dispatched Mia Renzulli of Prout (6-0, 6-0) in second round.

The first thing opponent’s see when stepping on the court with Ellison is that she doesn’t have many weaknesses. Her powerful topspin ground strokes are sharp and she can hit slices with both forehand and backhand and her tall slender frame is quick enough to get to most cross court returns and drop shots.

Ellison’s biggest weapon is her booming serve that she can hit for aces and her second serve can be just as devastating.

But her best weapon is her passion and her no-quit attitude.

“Abi’s a coach's dream,” Sharma said. “She works harder than anyone. And I'm only saying this because this is stuff that goes through my head all the time as her coach. I see her woking hard harder than you could ever imagine somebody work hard at their respective passion. It's insane.”

“I love tennis because it never stops being hard,” Ellison said, after she beat Roposo during the state tournament at Slater Park. “It was a place that I could put my drive and passion and it would be able to last. It’s always challenging.”

She began playing tennis during Covid and had several different personal tennis coaches before landing with Chundan Singh at Maestro Tennis Academy in Providence.

Singh, formerly of Barrington, began his career at Centre Court in East Providence. He would later move to Argentina to train with Pablo Bianchi in Alejandro Academy in Buenos Aires. He turned pro and played two summers in France before moving to Italy to train with Leonardo Azzaro in 2015. He began his coaching career in 2018 at Azzaro’s academy and worked with pro tennis players Juan Carlos Ferrero and Carlos Alcaraz. Singh specializes in tactical development with a heavy emphasis on footwork. He believes that there is always something to be learned and something to be taught, according to his bio on LinkedIn.

“It’s pretty challenging,” Ellison said of lesson’s with Singh. “Sometimes we are out hitting balls in 100-degree weather.”

She also has been working on her core strength and reaction speed with Singh.

“We would work on fitness training in the mornings,” Ellison said. “We would run a ladder drill. Work with a medicine ball. And use a special ball that would bounce all over the place. It was fun.”

Joined the boys tennis team in 2022

Always looking for a challenge, Ellison played her freshman and sophomore seasons with the boys team before deciding to play with the girls team this year.

“I wanted the experience with girls,” she said of the switch. “Seniors that were my friends were leaving the boys team. And I have friends on the girls team and they moved up to D-2 this season.”

Ellison joined an experienced boys team a year after they won the Division 3 championship. The Townies moved up to D-2 when Ellison joined the squad. Already a solid player, she took the second singles spot as a freshman and kept it in her sophomore season.

“We had a really good squad of kids and Abi was really kind of drawn to that right away,” Sharma said. “That wasn’t easy to do as a 14-year old.”

This season Ellison joined a girls team that moved up to Division 2 after losing the Division 3 championship two years in a row. She is looking to make a difference and help put the Townies over the top.

“We fell short both times,” he said. “I think Abi saw the value in the girls tennis team and competing at a high level here. She took advantage of those opportunities playing with that really talented and successful boys team. I think she learned a lot from that and she's bringing that to the girls team.”

Ellison has been a great teammate and is undefeated in the first singles slot for the Lady Townies.

“She is one of the most selfless kids that I’ve ever met,” said Sharma. “She's incredibly talented and dedicated. She wants us to be successful and she knows it's not all about her because she knows that's what the team culture is, right, and she embodies that to perfection.”

Now that the state tourney is over, Ellison and her teammates will ramp up for a deep run in the Division 2 playoffs.

The Townies are currently one match out of fourth place with a record of 8-5 with two matches to play against 4-9 Pilgrim and Division 3 Tiverton.

“We kind of have a few injuries right now. But I think we got this. We’re ready,” she said.