The V Magazine & VMAN + EA7 2022 Calendar is now available for purchase!

It’s not often that one can say they’ve competed on a national team and attended the worlds most prestigious Ivy League school (Harvard), let alone done the two simultaneously but 18-year-old tennis-star Holly Fischer is a rare occurrence. Born and raised in Central London’s Covenant Garden, Fischer’s journey to tennis was both “inherited,” and “random” so to speak. Her parents had a love for the sport but never really got the chance to try their hand at it. As luck or dare I say fate, would have it, while vacationing as a family in Florida, the hotel they stayed at offered tennis lesson for both adults and children. Having a natural knack for playing tennis, Fischer stuck with lessons beyond her family vacation. Competing for the very first time at just 11-years-old—Fischer dominated, ultimately winning the tournament…which set the tone for the rest of her young career. Since that defining moment, the tennis-protege has been making a racket in London’s tennis scene. And now, crossing the pond over to the states—the attention has also followed along with her. And her latest feat: appearing in V Magazine’s annual calendar while donning the latest offerings from athleisure arbiter EA7.

 

Get to know Holly Fischer in an exclusive interview below: 

V Magazine: How did you get into sports? 

Holly Fischer: I got into sport really randomly actually. When I was younger, my parents and I were staying at a hotel in Florida. My parents wanted to play tennis at the clinic they had at the hotel, so, as a baby sitting service, they put me in tennis lessons as well. 

V: Now that you are a full-fledged athlete, what does a training season look like for you? 

HF: Usually during training season I play tennis two times a day for 1.5 hours each session. In the morning it will usually be more drill and technique focused and then in the afternoon I will play more points. After that I also usually do an hour of strength and conditioning followed by some stretching and rolling out. 

V: I think for a lot of disciplines or passions that become a “job” there’s often a spillover into the personal areas of your life. How has sports affected the non-athletic parts of your life?

HF: I think sport has given me a lot more resilience in the non-athletic parts of my life as sports has forced me to persevere past some difficult obstacles that I would not have thought I could overcome. I think that definitely translates to other areas in my life as it gives me more confidence to keep going and not to give up when it comes to other obstacles outside of sport. 

V: When did you realize you wanted to play tennis professionally? 

HF: I think I really realized that I wanted to play tennis when I was 11 years old. When I was 11, I played my first tennis tournament where there were a  lot of people that came to watch and a really great atmosphere. I ended up winning that tournament and I remember just really enjoying the feeling of being out on court and competing. I think after that I definitely realized that tennis was something I wanted to pursue. 

V: Who would you say inspires you in the realm of tennis currently? Who are your heroes within sports and why? 

 HF: I’m super inspired by Serena Williams. I’ve always loved the way she plays and I think the way that she’s come back to tennis after having her child is super impressive. In sports in general I would say that Michael Jordan is my hero. I definitely think he’s one of the greatest athletes ever and his work ethic and the motivation to be the very best basketball player he could be is super inspiring. 

 V: Now if you weren’t playing tennis, what do you think you’d be doing? 

HF: Right now I’m actually playing tennis at Harvard University on the tennis team. In the future I think I’d like to work in finance or computer science as those are two subjects that really interest me. 

V: Wow, I don’t think anyone would have expected that but it’s super cool. I have a fun one here, what would you say are your essentials for training or competing? 

HF: A racket, tennis balls, tennis shoes, energy bars, and water

V: In sports, athletes are often in situations where you have to push your body to do these exceptional things. When you are facing a difficult moment in training or competing and you are simply at your physical limit, how do you continue on? How do you push through?

HF: When I’m at my physical limit, I usually try to push through by telling myself that although the specific exercise I am doing might be super tough in that given moment, in the grand scheme of things compared to how long I’ve trained for tennis or the amount of time I’ve dedicated to other areas, I won’t be doing this exercise for long, so I can definitely keep going and make it to the end. 

V: And to bring this lovely interview to a close, what are you looking forward to most in 2022? 

HF: In 2022 I’m most looking forward to getting to compete with my tennis team and getting to travel to play matches against other schools. I think we have a really strong team this year so I’m super excited for us all to get out there during season and have the chance to play a lot of matches.