Where does one start when trying to get an understanding on what has propelled Fiona Crawley’s rise in tennis? How about that night more than a dozen years ago, when a military father and his 6-year-old daughter were hitting a tennis ball together on a court in Japan? It was one of those transformative moments that laid a foundation and fostered a shared love.

Or, perhaps it was that day at a tournament in Austin almost a decade ago when the same little girl — then 10 years old — refused to eat ice cream like the rest of the participants because she lost a match?

“I was kind of disciplining myself,” Crawley recalled. “It’s also kind of hard to eat when you’re crying.”

Welcome to Crawley’s world. The former Alamo Heights High School standout is a self-described perfectionist, who learned to accept her imperfections when a relentless pursuit to be flawless created a “toxic mindset,” and yet still, ended up accomplishing perfection.

“I am a perfectionist,” Crawley said. “But I try to not use that word, because then I feel I do start getting carried away with all the things that are going wrong instead of the things I should credit myself with.”

Little has gone wrong for Crawley during her freshman season at North Carolina. She has nation-best 25-0 record in singles matches as the Tar Heels (26-0), the nation’s No. 1-ranked team, host South Carolina State at 1:30 p.m. Friday in the opening round of the NCAA tournament. Arkansas and Conference USA champion Old Dominion make up the rest of the teams in the single-elimination quadrant aiming for a berth into the NCAA championships May 16-28 in Orlando.

“This season has been way more than I ever dreamed it could be in terms of numerical success for me,” Crawley said.

The defining point perhaps came on Feb. 7. The nation’s No. 1 recruit in the Class of 2020, Crawley’s resume is long and illustrious. The 5-foot-6 Crawley won the United States Tennis Association’s national tournament in San Antonio in February 2020, the 16s title at the USTA Billie Jean King national hard court championships in 2018 — earning entry into the U.S. Open Junior Championship — the USTA 16s national clay court championship and USTA 18s national winter title in 2017, and represented Team USA at the Junior Fed Cup in 2018. She also played Coco Gauff at the prestigious Orange Bowl in December 2018.

Crawley, 19, captured three UIL Class 5A state doubles championships — two with Brianna Wilbur and one with Brittney Wilbur — and had a bid for a fourth straight crown dashed a year ago when the University Interscholastic League halted the spring tennis season because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Those accolades, though, carried little weight three months ago when North Carolina faced No. 3 Texas in the final of the 34th annual Intercollegiate Tennis Association national team indoor championships in Stillwater, Okla. The Tar Heels trailed 3-2 with two matches remaining, and Crawley’s contest vs. Texas’ Fernanda Labrana was pivotal. Labrana won the first set 6-3. Crawley rebounded and won second frame 6-1. In the decisive third set, Labrana rolled to a 4-1 advantage and appeared on the cusp of victory.

“That’s definitely an image that I’ll never forget looking up at,” Crawley said of glancing at the scoreboard while trailing 4-1.

But instead of being discouraged, Crawley found “another level” to her game. She won the final five games to claim the contest and tied the match at 3-3. Crawley called it “one of the best moments in my tennis career.” Teammate Elizabeth Scotty outlasted Texas’ Charlotte Chavatipon 4-6, 7-6 (3), 7-2 and North Carolina completed a thrilling comeback for its second straight ITA crown.

“To be honest, I feel like I kind of blacked out in that third set,” said Crawley, who was named Atlantic Coast Conference rookie of the week for her play at the event. “I don’t know if it was my training or my adrenalin that kicked in, but I feel like I got into a state of mind where I blocked everything else out. I knew that I had to win that match or our team was going to lose. That was the most important thing to me at the time.”

Crawley, who started the season at No. 120 in the ITA rankings and is now No. 36, turns her focus on helping North Carolina claim its first national title. It’s a win-or-go-home scenario she is prepared for.

“When I started playing, losing was the end of the world,” she said. “I remember throwing fits after matches if I would lose, in my dad’s car crying and saying, ‘I never want to play tennis again.’ I think my parents kind of learned (that) losing sucked, but that I would keep going. Expectations and pressure are a part of life and a part of tennis, for sure. I’ve always felt pressure. I think that’s something that you’ve kind of have to let go when you’re on court.
“It’s amazing to have this opportunity and to be able to experience it with a team that I love and who we trained so hard this year. It would be more than a dream (to win a national championship).”

terrence@terrencesports.com
Twitter: @sa_terrence1