Dundas resident Kirsten Magi, soon to graduate from Burlington’s Nelson High School with honours, has made news by accepting a tennis scholarship to Purdue University in Indiana.

Readers may recall her father Allan Mägi, still a competitive cross-country skier, who was ranked among Ontario’s and Canada’s best in his prime. Her mother Alison notes that Kirsten is known as Kay Kay to friends and family.

Magi, 18, intends to study business at Purdue. Tennis is not the only court sport where she has excelled: she has also been very successful as a basketball player. In 2006 Magi and her Nelson teammates placed third at the Ontario provincials. During her hoops career Magi picked up eight Ontario basketball medals, and in 2006 was also part of the AAAA Ontario championship team.

Kirsten has been playing tennis since she was 11 years old. By 2004 she was nationally ranked in the top five in her age group, and won the Ontario Tennis Girls’ All-Star Award. Last summer she was placed at No.37 at the Canadian Women’s Open ranking, reaching the doubles semifinals at the nationals as well as reaching the top 18 in singles play.

Purdue women’s tennis head coach Laura Glitz said on the university’s website that she looks for the new recruit to have an “impact on the top of the lineup in singles and doubles”, noting that the tall (5-10) lefthander has a powerful serve and forehand.

The Hamilton Spectator recently noted how Magi had turned adversity into a scholarship, after dealing with a variety of issues, both physical and mental. They included stress factures to her feet, a bout of shingles and shoulder injuries. Magi consulted a sports psychologist to help her with mental issues on the court. Kirsten Magi remarked in the Spectator article that “controlling emotions is a huge part of tennis.” The fact that she changed her focus from basketball – a team sport with a coach all providing support to tennis, an individual sport where the competitor is all alone on the court took adjustment, but the athlete now says that working with the sports psychologist has made her “not only stronger as a player on the court, but as a person.”

Congratulations on realizing a longtime dream to Kirsten (Kay Kay) Magi. We may have another Kaia Kanepi (also K-K) in the makings.

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