photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Free State sophomore Eli Ward watches the ball during the 6A regional tournament on Friday, Oct. 9, 2026, in Olathe.

Eli Ward walks to the back of the court after every point and touches the racket to the back fence. Her opponents might do the same, but there’s usually some sort of emotion being expressed physically in that moment.

But for Ward, it’s mechanical, surgical. There’s no emotive expression in her actions, whether she won the point or not. She doesn’t converse with her coach or any teammate. Ward just stays in her head, checks in with herself and figures out what she needs to do at the next point.

“I think if I was talking to people, I would just lose it and go off the rails out there,” Ward said. “I think it helps me a lot to just stay in my own bubble and stay focused.”

Ward’s mental focus is probably her greatest strength, which says a lot because Ward is the best tennis player in Kansas. As a freshman, she went undefeated and won Sunflower League, regional and state championships. Now, Ward is set to be the top seed in the 6A state tournament once again and will defend her state title.

Winning for her second year in a row would be special, in large part because it would give her permanent bragging rights over her brother, Micah. The elder Ward sibling only competed with Free State in his senior year, months after Eli won her singles title. Winning state again would put her forever above him in the family high school state singles champion race.

But the real motivation for winning again is simply that Ward loves tennis. She grew up surrounded by the sport with her tennis-coaching parents, Jared and Christy, so a love for the sport is ingrained in her. Even though there’s potential pressure of winning back-to-back or showing out before college coaches can begin recruiting her this summer, all Ward is focused on is playing the game.

“I haven’t really thought about the outcome of matches or tournaments — that’s not the No. 1 thing in my mind,” Ward said. “I just love playing. I love being out here. I have met some great people through it, and it’s never really about winning or losing for me, it’s always just having fun.”

That mental focus makes a big difference on the court. Ward’s technical strength surpasses her opponents thanks to the years of training, but her mental makeup is just as far ahead of the rest of the state. She can win and she wants to win, but she doesn’t let any match get too big for her. She keeps her head clear, taps her racket on the fence and thinks about the next point.

That skill has only gotten better since Ward’s state title run a year ago. She’s now another year older and more experienced, and her physical and mental maturation are that much better. Ward didn’t think she handled some of the tight moments last year as well as she could have, even though she also went undefeated. But this year, that skill is even sharper.

“Over the past year I’ve just been working on keeping my confidence in my shots and my demeanor and everything,” Ward said. “In some matchups, that’s definitely most of the time what separates some better players from others.”

Ward went through the regional tournament on Friday and didn’t lose a game. That doesn’t mean that none of the games were close — there were several that had to go deep into tiebreakers when Ward got to her final matches — but Ward was sharp when she needed it most. Ward said she tries to play every point with the same freeness, so that the big moments don’t get too big.

“I’ve had moments where I’ll get angry in outside-of-season tournaments, and it will just take over and I can’t think straight,” Ward said. “So being really focused, dialed in and keeping my cool is my No. 1 thing that keeps me able to go on in a match.”

Ward might be solitary on the court, but she’s never alone. That’s part of the key to her mental strength is knowing the support of family in the stands, as well as her Free State teammates. Despite having grown up in singles and having not spent much time on tennis teams, the team aspect of Free State is a major pull.

“I’m so happy they were there supporting and watching,” Ward said of her fellow Firebirds. “I love them all so much. My coaches are great, it’s all just such a great experience.”

Ward is an exemplary teammate to those Firebirds, too. Free State coach Aaron Clark always appreciates having someone as skilled as Ward is on the team because of the scoring that she can provide in tournaments. But her ability to help her teammates and be a good person makes the team rally around each other better.

“She doesn’t come in whether it be at practice or meets with an ego,” Clark said. “She wants them to have success, just like they want her to. It benefits everybody.”

The relationship she has with her teammates goes back to the mental focus she brings with her. She doesn’t live or die with every point, and she’s not hard to deal with. She just loves tennis and loves to be around girls who have just as much fun competing as she does.

When it comes to competing, Ward will see the best that KSHSAA schools have to offer in Wichita on Friday and Saturday. Winning it all again would mean a lot, and she’s certainly focused on winning, but for Ward to win again, the key is simply to have fun playing tennis for Free State for the last time this year.

“(I) just (want to) have fun,” Ward said. “Have fun and whatever happens, happens. I’m there to have a good time, not come into it thinking I’m going to beat everyone. I just want to have a good time.”

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Free State sophomore returns the ball during the 6A regional tennis tournament on Friday, Oct. 9, 2026, in Olathe.