SOUTHWEST GIRLS TENNIS INFORMATION FALL 2026
The 2026 Minnesota girls high school regular tennis season lasts from Mid-August to early October. The Minneapolis Southwest girls high school tennis team consists of 3 teams: varsity, junior varsity (JV) and the B-squad. Players will have the choice of trying out for varsity, trying out for JV, or electing to be on the B-Squad.
Southwest Tennis is a no-cut program. In 2025 we had a total of 49 players participate in the Southwest girls tennis program. 12 Varsity Players, 17 Junior Varsity Players, 20 B Squad Players.
If you are interested in playing tennis, send us an email at swgirlstennis@gmail.com. We will add you to our communication list for any off-season tennis opportunities, August captains practice & tryout schedules.
SPORTS REGISTRATION
All players need to be registered before the beginning of the season (Monday, August 17). Please register today!
Register here: https://students.arbitersports.com/programs/southwest-hs-athletic-registration-fall-2026
Pay Here (9-12 grades): https://www.studentquickpay.com/mpls/
NOTE: 7th and 8th graders: leave check (made out to ‘Southwest Athletics’) outside the athletic directors office at the high school – the lockbox is near the AD office in the commons
All must pay to participate
Registration Fees: football is $90, and for all other sports is $75. ($25 for families registered for educational benefits – $30 for football.)
All athletes must have a sports physical on record from the last three years. Sports physicals are free at the Southwest Mini-Clinic. Call 612-394-3278 to schedule.
START OF TENNIS SEASON/TRYOUTS
Captains practice: August 10-14
- Captains Ellen Davis, Lila West and Eliana Brown will be running practice this week.
- This week is optional, but a fun way to get to know others on the team before the season officially starts! We hope to see you there!
- All practices at Linden Hills Courts
- Monday, August 10 — 6:30-7:30 pm
- Tuesday, August 11 — 3:30-4:30 pm
- Wednesday, August 12 — 6:30-7:30 pm
- Thursday, August 13 — 6:30-7:30 pm
- Friday, August 14 — 6:30-7:30 pm
Tryouts:
Tryouts will be held Monday 8/17-Thursday 8/20:
Monday and Tuesday 9am – 1:30pm
- Varsity tryouts 9am – 11:30am
- JV tryouts/B-Squad practice 11am – 1:30pm
- 11am-11:30am will be ice breaker games with all players
Wednesday and Thursday 4pm – 8:30pm
- Varsity tryouts 4pm – 6:30pm
- JV tryouts/B-Squad practice 6pm – 8:30pm
- 6pm – 6:30pm will be ice breaker games with all players
Players trying out for varsity and JV can expect to play both doubles and singles sets for which scores will be recorded.
Teams will be decided by Thursday August 20th and individual team practices will begin Friday August 21st. We ask all players to please fill out the following Google Form as soon as possible, letting us know which team you plan to try out for/elect to be on, which will allow us to better organize tryouts. Please read below about each of the three teams to help you make your decision.
Mpls Southwest Girls Tennis Tryouts 2026 Google Form
Location:
Due to the fact that both Linden Hills and Pershing Park have only four courts, all players will meet at Linden Hills on Monday August 17th, but will be split up between LH and PP to be able to run tryouts more efficiently. Older girls who can drive will be asked to take younger players to PP after 20-30 minutes on the first day of tryouts. Tuesday-Thursday we hope to let players know which site to go to the night before, and avoid having to drive between sites.
*If you are not comfortable with your student being driven by a player between Linden Hills and Pershing Park, please reach out to Malini at malinil.wijesinghe@gmail.com.
What to bring:
Players should come wearing athletic clothes and bring the following:
- tennis racquet
- plenty of water
- signed transportation waiver
2026 Season:
The 2026 Minnesota girls high school regular tennis season lasts from Monday August 17th to Friday October 2nd. Tryouts will be held from Monday August 17th – Thursday August 20th at the Linden Hills and Pershing Park tennis courts.
The Minneapolis Southwest girls high school tennis team consists of 3 teams: varsity, junior varsity (JV) and the B-squad. Players will have the choice of trying out for varsity, trying out for JV, or electing to be on the B-Squad.
Varsity:
Varsity is the highest level team. Players trying out for varsity often play competitive tennis year-round a minimum of two times per week. Players should have previous varsity/matchplay/tournament experience, and consider tennis one of their favorite sports. Players who want to play on the varsity team must be at tryouts for the week of August 17th. Tennis should be the top priority from August-October for players trying out for varsity.
There are three open spots on the varsity team this year, and we will likely ask a couple players per day to attend JV tryouts for the following day as we make selections for the varsity team.
Practices: 5-7pm Linden Hills
Matches: 2-3x/week
*All players trying out for varsity must be available for an out-of-town trip Friday August 28th – Sunday August 30th.
**The varsity season extends beyond Friday October 2nd depending on how far the team and individual players advance in the section/state tournaments. The season will end no later than Friday October 23rd.
Varsity Team Trip: Friday, August 28 – Sunday, August 30th, 2026
The varsity team will be heading to Brainerd (about 2.5 hours northwest of the cities) to play matches against St.Cloud Tech High School, Brainerd High School and Buffalo High School. We will stay at Ruttger’s Bay Lake Resort in Deerwood, MN. Chaperones will include Coach Malini and booster parents. There will be an additional cost for each player for two nights’ accommodation and food. The cost of the trip is $150 and payment is collected before we leave. Scholarships are available, please reach out to head coach Malini.
JV:
JV is the second highest level team. Players trying out for JV should have previous tennis experience and have a basic understanding of the fundamentals of the game as well as scoring. If players have other commitments during the tennis season that will conflict with practices/matches, such as being in the school band or playing another sport, they should try out for JV or elect to be on the B-squad.
Practice August 21st until school starts: 4-6pm Pershing Park
Practice once school starts: 3:30-5:30pm Pershing Park
Matches: 2x/week
B-Squad:
The B-squad is our developmental team. Players who elect to be in the B-Squad can have any level of tennis experience. There are no requirements in terms of understanding the fundamentals of the strokes and/or scoring.
Practice August 21st until school starts: 3-5pm Linden Hills
Practice once school starts: 3:30-5pm Linden Hills
Matches: 2x/week
Uniforms:
A purple tank top will be provided by the SW Girls Tennis Booster Club. This uniform must be returned to the Booster Club at the end of the season.
All players must wear their own back shorts/skorts/tennis skirt to matches.
Important dates:
8/5 Wednesday 5:30-7pm – Fall Sports Information Night (The Commons – Southwest HS)
8/24 Monday 7pm – Tennis Parent Information Night (The Commons – Southwest HS)
8/25 Tuesday 1:30-3pm – Crafting/Ice Cream Social (Linden Hills Park)
8/31 Monday 5pm U.S. Open Viewing Party (Viking Lakes)
9/13 Sunday 2-4pm Kickball (Linden Hills Park)
9/20 Sunday 2-5pm Car Wash (Lake Harriet United Methodist Church)
9/24 Thursday 3:45pm Picture Day (Pershing Park)
Laker Tennis Merchandise:
Team store is OPEN! Monday, August 3rd – Wednesday August 12th
Merch Link: https://generalsportsmn.chipply.com/southwesttennis2026/?action=viewall Orders will be picked up and delivered to you in early September. Go Lakers!
TEAM COMMUNICATION
We use TeamSnap for all scheduling. Expect to have practice or matches every day of the week with the possibility of a tournament on Saturdays. It is very important you monitor TeamSnap—fall weather can change quickly and we send out schedule changes via TeamSnap only.
MATCHES
Each team has several matches scheduled throughout the season. 10 players are in the starting line-up for each match (4 singles, 3 doubles), but there are usually exhibition matches as well. Coaches will tell players the line-up in advance or at the match. All players are expected to show up ready to play, unless they have spoken with the coach in advance about a conflict.
MATCH SNACKS
We ask that families provide snacks for your team at least once during the season. Snack sign-ups will be arranged by each team. Suggested snack options: grapes, bananas, or oranges, trail mix, Cliff or other protein bars, Gatorade or chocolate milk. You don’t have to bring a meal—but something to fuel them up before their match. You’ll know the count of players for your team—and it doesn’t hurt to have enough for coaches, too. Please bring snack 30 minutes early to the match.
EARLY RELEASE
Players are not given early release for practice. Depending on match times, players are given early release to make sure they can either catch the bus for away matches or make it to a home match 30 minutes prior. The coaches have given the SW Athletic Director a list of players for early release for each match. No note is necessary for Southwest students. We recommend you alert your teacher(s) prior to missing class.
