ATLANTA, GA - ATLANTA - Few players had a bigger impact on their team this season than Seone Mendez. With Seone providing a scintillating foundation, Team Tampa lost just one women’s singles match all season —  a massive bright spot and an integral part of their resurgence in the final weeks. Her consistency and standout performances were rewarded when she was named the INTENNSE™ Female Most Valuable Player.

Mendez wasn’t expecting her name to be called. In fact, she told her teammates not to get their hopes up. But when the announcement came, it confirmed what many around her already believed: her season had been nothing short of exceptional.

“Honestly, the amount of times that I've expected something or I think I deserve something and it just doesn't go my way, there are too many times in my career,” she said. “So I said to everybody, ‘No, not me, I'm not going to get it. Let me just focus on my match, and if I get it, great.’”

When her name was announced, she could not stop smiling. “I honestly felt like I deserved that,” she added. “I played quite well throughout the season.”
Despite her decorated professional career, Mendez had never competed in a format like this before, and it ultimately reignited something deep within her.

“This gave me a new love for the sport,” she said. “I was about to just, you know, put them (rackets) away forever, and I was quite happy with that. And then you guys called me up and I was like, ‘Okay, let's see what happens.’”

She paused, smiling as she reflected on the season. “And I really, really enjoyed myself, and it gave me a kind of different outlook on tennis. Obviously, the team really helped with that. It’s something that I look forward to in the future, hopefully.”

Unlike many of her peers, Mendez didn’t play college tennis. Her career had always been an individual pursuit, and the team dynamic brought something completely new.

“I love playing with a team. I didn't realize that I loved playing with a team so much,” she admitted. “It’s why I chose tennis, because obviously it's by myself and I am responsible for anything that happens. And then also win by myself, lose by myself. But to have the team and have their support on the sideline, it was a great feeling.”

Her physical style of play fit seamlessly within the INTENNSE format, which rewards movement, quick decision-making, and smart shot selection. The fast-paced nature of INTENNSE played to her strengths.

“The format was great for me because I honestly played quite fast in my career. So I'm always going side to side quite fast. And the 14 seconds in between the points were good for me. It didn't give me time to think or overthink. So yeah, it was just one point after another, and I really loved it.”

She also discovered new ways to maximize her game. “I didn't expect to get that many plus twos because I played quite like Spanish tennis, quite slow and heavy,” she said. “And with the drop shots, that worked out super well. I was like, this is great.”

Adjusting to INTENNSE’s unique rules came with challenges and opportunities. To start, there was getting used to not giving so many plus twos away.

“Normally, you would chase a ball and you would make it, and hopefully they miss the next shot,” she said. “But in this format, you have to just maybe tap it so you don't give away the plus twos. I think getting used to that was a little difficult. I feel like the format forced a lot of players to go for a little bit more to try and get plus twos.”

It was the one serve that put a lot of pressure on the server and gave the returner a little bit of an edge, but for her, it worked out well. However, playing on the clock required some adjustments. 

“Your eyes always go towards the clock,” she said. “You're thinking, ‘This point's going to last 30 seconds and maybe you're down five points and you need a faster point.’ You have 30 seconds on the clock. What do you do? Just go for big shots and then possibly give more points away? Or try and play it out and see what happens? There’s a lot that goes through your head that not a lot of people understand.”

But for Mendez, the lasting memory is not just the format or the wins. It is the bond she built with her teammates.

“We got along super well, like I said before, and we had so much fun on and off the court,” she said. “We were together all the time, breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Practice was amazing. We were a great team.”