Serving up success

Winnipeg

Garden City

West Kildonan

Fort Rouge

Without a crystal ball, it’s hard to know what Mariya Gedz might achieve on the tennis court by her 18th birthday.

With a tennis ball and racket, however, the Garden City resident is making a name for herself on the local tennis scene and beyond.

For the last year or so, Gedz — who is currently 14 — has been the top-ranked female player in the province in U18 category. Nationally, she was previously ranked 21st in the girls U14 bracket, and she’s currently ranked 48th in the girls U16 category, having recently moved up an age level (she turns 15 this year).

In light of her continued progress, the teen recently received Sport Manitoba’s $500 Bison Transport Women to Watch grant, which supports girls and women as they advance and develop in their chosen sports.

Gedz, who represented Manitoba at the 2025 Canada Summer Games and has played at nationals every year since 2021, has been playing tennis since she was four under the watchful eye of her aunt, Olga Berdynskykh, who has also been her coach for the past decade.

“I’ve loved tennis since I was really young, since my aunt encouraged me to play,” said Gedz, who attends Garden City Collegiate.

The high-performance athlete is currently a member of Otto Tennis Academy, based at the Winnipeg Winter Club in Fort Rouge.

While she plays an individual sport, Gedz said she enjoyed the camaraderie created competing at last year’s Canada Summer Games as a team.

“I love individual sports because I like being able to take accountability for myself,” she said, noting one of her ambitions is to secure a tennis scholarship at a college or university after leaving high school. “You need to be athletic and smart, and I play best when thinking in the moment.”

Gedz is thankful for the support of her family, and she’s grateful for the player-coach bond that has developed with her aunt in the last 10 years. Berdynskykh, in turn, praised her niece’s all-round attitude and abilities.

“Mariya has a solid technique, and she’s very smart. She can do everything on court, and she’s really smart. She has a really strong mentality,” said Berdynskykh, who lives in West Kildonan.

At the core of their partnership, she said, is the fact “I have a really close connection with her; she trusts me 100 per cent. We’ve developed that connection for the last 10 years, and we really work on the mental part of her game.”

Berdynskykh gave a shout-out to all the players at the players at the Otto Academy, which “makes the best players in the province.”

She said the majority of the U12 prospect team comes from Otto, as do many players on the provincial team.

Steve Dreger, Tennis Manitoba executive director, also praised Gedz’s mental fortitude and spirit, and earmarked her for a bright future.

“I would say she’s a highly competitive, very respectful and hard-working athlete who has played her whole life,” Dreger said.

“In terms of her game, it’s her mental performance that stands out to me. She’s a great player and a great person and a great representative for Manitoba.”

“As a member of the provincial team, and being a high-performance athlete, she’s always pushing herself, and doing anything she can to get as much time on the court as possible. She’s also very humble,” he added.

One of Getz’s next competitive appearances will be the 2026 Courtside Racquets Junior Open tournament at Winnipeg Winter Club from Feb. 13 to 15.