VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Elizabeth Tucker will be the first to tell you that she's a bit of a perfectionist. "I think that's part of how I push myself", she says. What she won't tell you is that she's a really good tennis player. Just a sophomore, Tucker is the top player at Ocean Lakes High School. She admits that she's new to the game trying it on occasion in elementary school.
Tucker got a sense of her skills when she reached the Class 6 region semifinals as a freshman. "Last season, I started to learn a lot about my ability with competition", she said. Her head coach, Lindsay Johnson, who's in her first year with the school couldn't be happier. "She's great! Very energetic and all in."
As talented as Tucker is on the court, she does balance things off of it as a painter. Her emphasis is on acrylic paintings and some sketching. "It's a release", she said. "It's kind of mindless, but in a good way. I find it to be a really good way for me to decompress sometimes."
While she has dreams of playing the game like her idol Serena Williams, she also believes in delving into the world of impressionist artists like Vincent Van Gogh. "I think that having another interest has always taken the pressure of being a tennis player, because I try not to be a one trick pony", she joked. Tucker enjoys being an artist not only on the court, but off it as well.