12-year-old Caitlin Fisher is ranked third in the state of Ohio in her age group.
Mercy Health, which provides advanced, quality care with compassion in your neighborhood through its care network, announces that junior tennis player and Anderson HealthPlex team member Caitlin Fisher is one of the top ranked tennis players in Ohio.

Caitlin, who turns 13 this month, started playing tennis at the Anderson HealthPlex when she was seven. She started in the quick start program, which uses smaller courts and equipment and slower balls, allowing kids to learn how to play tennis by actually playing the game.

Tennis Recruiting has ranked Caitlin as a 5-star player, just one level below the top ranked Blue Chip players and she’s currently ranked as the third best player in Ohio in her age group. Caitlin is ranked among the top 15 tennis players in the Midwest region, which includes Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, West Virginia and Wisconsin.

“I call Caitlin the silent killer, because she’s very sweet and quiet but very focused when playing,” says her coach Andrew Conley, Junior Tennis Director at the Anderson HealthPlex. “She sees the ball as the enemy, not the opponent, which keeps her from getting caught up in who she’s playing and lets her focus on the ball and the game.”

At the 2013 national championships in Georgia, she won two matches against the best in the nation. Earlier this year, she won a girls’ 16 and under tournament, where she played against 15- and 16-year-old high school girls. The Nagel Middle School student is only in the 7th grade but she beats high school players regularly and is a member of the elite HealthPlex Academy.

The Academy is the HealthPlex’s elite junior tennis program, which players join by invitation only. It’s for junior players who show exceptional dedication and skill. There are currently six players in the Academy, which keeps a very small student to coach ratio so that members can have more intensive practices and the students get more individual coaching.

The Mercy Health – HealthPlexes are part of the Midtown family and offer a variety of programs designed for junior tennis players ages 3-18.

The USTA has recognized Midtown as a pioneer in the field of 10 and Under Tennis and an industry leader in adapting to the needs of younger players and helping them develop their tennis skills.

The HealthPlexes’ Junior Development Pathway (sm) offers a systematic and progressive approach to tennis excellence. Structured around effective growth and development principles, players move at their own pace based on their ability, improvement and commitment.

Every level of the program has a simple set of objectives with our pros focused on helping your child achieve his/her goals. As a parent, you can trust that we will apprise you of your child’s progress as he/she advances through the Junior Development Pathway (sm).

To learn more about the HealthPlexes’ Junior Tennis Program, please contact Joe Wilkerson, Director of Tennis, 513-233-6802, jwilkerson@health-partners.org or Andrew Conley, Junior Tennis Coordinator, 513-233-6807, atconley@health-partners.org.