Next wave of Arandas set sights on state tennis

GLENDALE – For Jon Aranda, there is a pleasure and pain to this.

As an assistant tennis coach to Tim Koppa at Nicolet the past two-plus seasons, he gets to see his sons, Jaden and Ridley, plan regularly. The boys have played as long as they can remember and Aranda has essentially been their coach since Day 1.

Great, right? What parent wouldn’t want to watch his or her child on any stage. There is one catch to watching your kids compete, however: you actually have to watch them play.

And for Aranda, it’s not easy. “You live and die every point sometimes,” he said, “especially when big, meaningful matches are on the line.”

The state tournament begins Thursday at Nielsen Tennis Stadium in Madison and Jaden and Ridley are in the field again. Jaden, a junior, will make his third appearance in singles. Ridley, a sophomore, is back for the second straight year in doubles.

It will be a special father-sons moment that is part of something much larger. Tennis for the Arandas, isn’t just a sport, it is a part of the fabric of their family. They connect through the game. It has been like that for three generations and counting.

“Ever since I could walk I’ve had a tennis racket in my hand,” Ridley said. “My uncles both teach at a tennis club. My dad took us out to the courts as much as he could.

"It’s been in the family name for a while now, so I got into it right away. It’s in my blood.”

Jaden and Ridley are part of the second wave of Arandas to crash the state tournament. Their father and their uncles were standouts at Shorewood in the 1980s. Jon Aranda played three times at state. Jeff was a four-time qualifier. Jordan was part of state championship double teams as a junior and senior.

Jaden and Ridley are following that same tract.

Jaden is making his third state appearance and as the sixth seed owns the area’s highest seed in Division 1. Ridley is back for the second time in doubles and with senior Eli Winter is the No. 4 seed. Both were North Shore champions earlier this month.

“It’s cool. It’s amazing,” Jon said. “I’m so proud of them. At the same time it brought me right back. The memories came flooding back walking into Nielsen Jaden’s freshman year up in Madison. I was like I hadn’t been here in so long.”

Jesse Aranda would be proud, too. A child during the depression and a veteran of World War II, Jesse Aranda came to tennis late in life. After his tour in the Army, he attended college at the University of Mexico City. There he lived with a family of one of his professors, who was an avid player.

Jesse got hooked.

He went on to become president of the McKinley Tennis Club on the lakefront during the 1960s and '70s and played competitively well into his 70s. Often he was taking his three sons along for the ride or to the park to hit themselves.

All three went on to play at the Division I level in college and each has spent a good portion, if not all, of their adult life making a living off the game. Jeff and Jordan are longtime tennis pros with Elite Clubs.

Jaden and Ridley have similar memories.

“Everyone is into tennis. A big part of it is introducing the sport to us, but they didn’t force it upon us at all,” Jaden said. “My youngest brother, Gavin, he’s 13 years old. My dad introduced tennis to him but he never found a passion for it like my brother and I did.

“So basically they’d introduce it to us and if we really like it and found a passion, he would guide us through it.”

Both Arandas are in position add the family’s impressive résumé this weekend.

Jaden, who was named the area player of the year at the Journal Sentinel High School Sports Awards Show earlier this month, is seeded sixth, the best for an area player in Division 1. He took sixth last year.

Ridley teamed up with departed senior Ari Robinson last year to finish sixth in doubles and was the only freshman to make the podium of any division. This year he and senior Eli Winter are the No. 4 seed. The two are fire and ice on the court. “Jaden is a lot more calm. I tend to get angry on the court a lot,” Ridley said. “I yell a lot, throw my racket once in a while. I’ve been working on that, though. I try to be more like Jaden on the court, stay level-headed and calm. That is what I’m going for.”

Jaden’s rise to the area’s No. 1 player has been swift. As a freshman, he went 24-9 and won a match at state. Last year he received a boost from a 6-inch growth spurt that helped him add more power to his game and won the North Shore No. 1 singles title before reaching the state quarterfinals.

He arrives at state with a 23-4 record. Two of his losses came back-to-back on April 27 to Madison Memorial’s Colt Tegtmeier and Verona’s Will Tennison, the top two seeds at state. Aranda avenged his other loss, a three-set setback to Marquette’s Nick Yang on May 19 in the sectional.

It could be a big week for a family. Then again, any time an Aranda takes the court, it’s a big deal.

“They’re a huge support unit,” Jon said of his family. “They’re always texting us, ‘How are they doing’, ‘What’s up?' ‘What’s the score?’ and I think (Jaden and Ridley) feel that.

"It helps to have a bunch of people around you always rooting for you. That was something my dad instilled in us early and we’ve got that same thing going on now, which is cool.”