Women’s Tennis: Dormet, Fukuda share bond on and off the court
By: Eric Amerine
Ohio State sophomores Luna Dormet and Shiori Fukuda talked and cheered on their teammates together after winning their individual singles matches vs. Youngstown State. Luna is from Tours, France and Shiori is from Tokyo, Japan, yet both players are close friends.
Luna and Shiori were doubles partners for team matches vs. Youngstown State, Michigan State, and Wisconsin. Both players also currently have individual winning overall records according to OhioStateBuckeyes.com.
Luna and Shiori became close friends because of their international backgrounds. “We have bonded because, besides for Isabelle from Canada, we are the only two international players.”
Shiori further went on to say that their international backgrounds have led to homesickness and other struggles which domestic players have not faced, and has led to the two players to bond. “There are times where Luna misses her family and I am there for her and vice versa. American players do not completely understand.”
Luna and Shiori have both stated that they are quite close to each other. They have celebrated each others birthdays, have made each other different cuisines from France and Japan and get dinner together. Both players text each other often in their group chat and are always there for each other.
Luna fittingly stated, “We cheer and are constantly there for each other on and off the court,” after watching and cheering on Shiori to victory in her singles match vs. Minnesota.
Both players may be close, and their portraits may fittingly be side by side on the OhioStateBuckeyes.com website roster, but their personal stories of becoming Buckeyes could not be further apart.
Shiori started playing tennis competitively at age seven in Japan and went through a dark period at age 18 which made her question playing tennis competitively.
“There were a lot of times when it was hard, but one moment specifically, was when I was 18. When I was 15 and 16, I was always a top five high school tennis player in Japan. I stopped winning as much and over time it had become a really tough time for me.”
The pressure of her coaches expectations, the constant grind of the game and uncharacteristic losses were getting the best of Shiori. “Everyone’s expectations were quite high and I was losing. I began to question myself. I was not confident in my game; I almost lost the drive.”
Shiori, however, battled through her lack of confidence and committed to Ohio State. Ohio State provided the best mix of education and athletics, and so far has helped Shiori be successful on and off the court. She has earned Ohio State Scholar-Athlete and Academic All-Big Ten accolades according to OhioStateBuckeyes.com.
Luna, however, had started playing tennis at a later age and grew up playing soccer in France. Luna had become interested in tennis through the “Wii” tennis video game.
“One time, I was at my friend’s and we played Wii tennis. I have loved tennis since.”
Luna, unlike Shiori, has not experienced an adverse moment in her tennis career.
“I started pretty late. I noticed I could improve a lot so there were no bad times. I just kept working on my game.”
Regardless of the language barriers, differences in citizenship, and background story, both players are Buckeyes and have become close.
Ultimately, they hope to celebrate a Big Ten championship and a national championship together. The Buckeyes are currently 9–2 in conference play and are nationally ranked in the top 25 according to OhioStateBuckeyes.com.
