Free State High Junior Jessica Wuthrich, a foreign-exchange student from Switzerland, returns a ball during her doubles match against Lawrence High on Monday. Despite just joining the team in August, Wuthrich has become the Firebirds' No. 1 singles player because of her extensive background in the sport.

On the first day of practice in August, Free State High girls tennis coach Jon Renberger found out he had a foreign exchange student from Switzerland on his team.

Also on that first day of practice, Renberger realized she would be a force.

The tennis talents of Jessica Wuthrich, a 16-year-old from Riken, Switzerland, weren’t blatantly obvious.

“She doesn’t hit with a lot of pace,” Renberger said. “It’s not like she’s overpowering anybody.”

But once the Firebirds had a few practice matches, Wuthrich’s consistency with her shots, footwork and placement began to show.

“It was pretty clear that she had the skill from the very beginning,” Renberger recalled. “It was just a matter of how that would translate to competition. And it’s translated, obviously, very well.”

The import’s skills have led her to a 12-1 singles record following her victory over Lawrence High’s Xin Liu on Monday at Free State.

Liu, like most of Wuthrich’s opponents, came away impressed.

“I love her slices,” Liu said. “She has some really awesome backhand strokes.”

After battling the Free State junior in a match that Wuthrich won in a tie-breaker, Liu said her opponent’s composed style of play made her effective.

“She was pretty patient with all my shots,” Liu said. “She was willing to go step-by-step and get the ball. She wasn’t afraid to drag the game out.”

That composure comes from Wuthrich’s upbringing around the game. Although she didn’t start playing tennis until age 10, she said everyone in her family played tennis. But the familial and familiar sport isn’t organized the same in Kansas.

“It’s different. We have no school teams, we have just private clubs,” said Wuthrich, explaining that she played for her hometown’s club team, which had players of all ages, practiced once a week and played year-round.

Wuthrich has noticed other differences, too, like the fact that kids here can drive at a younger age, compared to Switzerland, where the legal age is 18. Not that Wuthrich is taking advantage of the U.S. driving laws. She’s being chauffeured about town by her host family.

Wuthrich said the other obvious difference between the plains of Kansas and her home country is the topography.

“The landscape is also not very similar,” she said. “We have lots of mountains. Here it’s very flat.”

It was by chance, not choice, that Wuthrich ended up in Lawrence. She couldn’t decide which country she wanted to study in, and her coaches back home decided to send her to the U.S. She arrived in August and will remain here for the entire school year before returning home in June.

Homesick only a few times since her arrival, Wuthrich said she is making friends at school and on the tennis court.

She likes the fact that schools have athletic programs here and has taken in a Free State football game, but didn’t get much out of it.

“I don’t understand it at all,” she said.

Football is virtually non-existent in Switzerland.

“We have just soccer, and that’s called football,” Wuthrich said, adding that her time with the tennis team hasn’t allowed her to check out the Firebirds soccer squad yet.

That court time has translated into strong play, but when asked, Wuthrich had trouble pinpointing her biggest strength on the court.

“I don’t know. Not my serve,” she said with a laugh.

True, she is no Roger Federer (her favorite pro player, who also hails from Switzerland). But who is?

Her serve isn’t fierce, but her footwork, speed and stamina make her plenty effective.

“She’s just worn down most of her opponents. She doesn’t hit with a lot of power, but she’s going to hit most everything back, and her placement is far above average,” Renberger said. “She kind of curves and slices her opponents to death.”

Liu was a victim of that on Monday. One of Wuthrich’s forehand winners froze the top LHS singles player and left her shaking her head while saying: “Nice shot.”

Renberger described Wuthrich as a singles player who could “take a lot of bullets” for the team.

“If we didn’t have Jessie, we’re not nearly as good of a team,” he said.

Wuthrich may be new to prep tennis in Kansas, but her background in the sport makes her one of the Firebirds’ most valuable weapons.

“She’s not intimidated by anybody or any situation,” Renberger said.