All your favorite teams and sources in one place

Build your feed

Your Teams.
All Sources.

Build your feed

© 2024 BVM Sports. Best Version Media, LLC.

No results found.
Undefeated tennis star staying home in Ann Arbor
Kari Miller was undefeated in her tennis career at Ann Arbor Pioneer High School. She will stay home to play collegiately at the University of Michigan. (Photo: Tom Pullen)

Undefeated tennis star staying home in Ann Arbor

ANN ARBOR, Mich. (BVM) – Kari Miller is one of the top-ranked youth tennis players in the country. Miller went a perfect 54-0 in matches during her high school career, culminating in two MHSAA Division I singles state titles during her freshman and junior seasons at Ann Arbor Pioneer High School. 

Miller was slated to win a third championship this year until her season was canceled due to COVID-19. But the 18-year-old remains one of the brightest tennis stars in the state, and will stay home while playing collegiately at the University of Michigan.

The Ann Arbor Pioneer grad began with tennis at the early age of 4, and competed in her first tournament at age 8. Miller was also a soccer and field hockey player during her youth, but tennis was always her main sport.

This was in large part due to the family background the Millers have in tennis. The 18-year-old was introduced to the game by her father, a former high school tennis player. But most notably, Miller’s aunt, Annie Miller, is a former professional tennis player who was ranked as high as No. 40 in the world over two decades ago. She also was the first professional opponent tennis legend Serena Williams ever faced off against. For Kari, tennis was just her destiny.

“It’s definitely been a family sport and I think I was going to end up playing tennis no matter what,” Kari said. “My dad grew up playing tennis and my aunt played professionally for a while. I knew that’s what my dad was familiar with and that’s what he pushed me to do.”

Pursuing the sport of tennis could not have been a better decision for Kari, as she realized she had a natural talent in the game right away during her youth career. The tennis star enjoyed playing in several national tournaments growing up, and by the summer before she started high school, Kari had cracked the top 25 nationally for girls tennis players her age.

That set the stage for her freshman year at Pioneer. Coach Tom Pullen, among others, knew Kari would likely be the best tennis player the school has seen come through their doors. Kari proved such right off the bat, going unbeaten in all of her matches as a freshman while winning her first state title as the team’s No. 1 singles player. 

“I wasn’t pressuring myself to win [the state championship],” Kari said about her first state title. “I definitely feel I deserved it and worked hard but I had tough competition and I was just glad things ended up going my way.”

With an opportunity to gain more national notoriety, Kari skipped her sophomore year of tennis at Pioneer to instead compete in higher level national tournaments that she otherwise would not have been able to. As college recruiting was about to begin, Kari wanted to make sure she got more exposure and believes taking the year to play in those tournaments paid off.

But Kari would return to high school tennis her junior year, ranked No. 17 nationally among girls high school tennis players by the Tennis Recruiting Network. Kari would again shine, going a perfect 29-0 en route to her second state championship as a No. 1 singles player. Coming back and winning another state title was a moment that stands out for Kari.

“The second title was actually more satisfying than the first one,” Kari said. “It was harder in a lot of ways because there was still a lot of good competition but I also had added pressure on me that I didn’t have my freshman year. The fact that I was able to succeed through that definitely made it more satisfying.”

Kari had the chance to win back-to-back state championships this spring before her tennis season was canceled due to COVID-19. She was not only hoping she could win individually yet again, but more importantly hoped her team could break through and win a state title. Ann Arbor Pioneer was the No. 1-ranked girls high school tennis team in Michigan before the season, and had the opportunity to go to state for the first time in a decade.

But perhaps more disheartening for Kari was the fact that she wouldn’t finally get the chance to play with her sister, Reese, on the same team this season.

“I was pretty sad at first when the season got canceled,” the 18-year-old said. “I think I would have been more disappointed if I wasn’t going to play tennis in college. But this season might have been the only season Reese and I might be on a team together so that’s also sad.”

It’s a bittersweet ending to Kari’s high school tennis career, but she leaves as one of the best prep tennis players to ever play in Michigan. The tennis star finished with an unblemished 54-0 record in matches, and is extremely proud of the two state championships she won at Pioneer. But Kari hopes her impact on the program goes beyond just the game.

“I hope that people remember me as being a good teammate and not just for the results that I had,” Kari said. “I got along really well with my team and we are all really close.”

Kari leaves high school ranked No. 6 nationally among girls junior players, and is the top prospect in Michigan. She sees being able to play collegiate tennis as perhaps her best accomplishment in the game, and the school she chose won’t be far from home.

In the fall, the 18-year-old will attend the University of Michigan, where she hopes to make a big impact on the tennis program during her four years there.

“I want to be an All-American and qualify for the NCAA Tournament,” Kari said. “But ultimately I want to get better and hopefully I will be good enough to enter into some pro tournaments after college.”

Michigan was always the front-runner for Kari, and was the only official visit for the tennis star. She did receive a lot of interest from other schools, but ultimately no one else lived up to the standards of her hometown school.

Kari has continued to train and get better every day over the summer, and recently played an exhibition tournament at the end of June – the first tournament she had been able to compete in for several months. The Pioneer grad will study business as a Wolverine, and will keep her options open as far as a future career in the field.

However, the ultimate goal post-college remains professional tennis, and based on what Kari has accomplished on the court so far, we might just hear her name on the pro circuit in the years to come.

“I do think pro tennis is a possibility,” Kari said. “It’s not like football or basketball where you have to get drafted; anyone can play the tournaments and see how they can do. I’m excited to try it and see how it goes.”