Crunchy green grapes — to most people, those words are just lost in the endless torrent of words or on another grocery list.
To BYU tennis player Grace Levelston, those words hold significant value.
“They made me think of you,” BYU assistant coach Anastasia Hayden told Levelston.
While the grapes may seem insignificant to most, those grapes show Levelston that her coaches do care for her as more than just a player. Those grapes represent the connections that Levelston has made at BYU. Those grapes symbolize the relationships that have helped her rediscover her fire and love of tennis.
As the No. 2 recruit in her tennis class, the expectations for Levelston were sky high. Along with getting All-American Honors in high school and training with the national team, Levelston was a young tennis prodigy. So when the injuries began to pile up for her, Levelston had to find ways to adjust.
Shin injuries, arm injuries and concussions began to hamper Levelston in her career. At one point, she was unable to hit a backhand for two years due to an undetected stress fracture that she had.
Similar to grapes, Levelston was bruised.
“ I’d say around 13 is when I started to have a lot of my injuries. I had what [they] thought was a stress fracture that went undetected in my wrists. So then I had a difference in bone lengths in my left wrist,” Levelston said.
Unfortunately, the injuries would not stop the expectations that were set for Levelston.
“The injuries took me out for a couple of years, and when I was [younger], I was told I need to be top 500 in the next two years if I wanted to go pro. And that wasn’t possible at the time due to my injuries,” Levelston said.
The injuries would follow Levelston to the collegiate level, where she began he collegiate career at UCF. After a couple of injury riddle seasons at UCF, Levelston decided it was time for a fresh start. At first, Levelston’s vision for a fresh start was a future without tennis.
“Initially I was just done with tennis. I wasn’t going to transfer and I had [begun] looking into some other life opportunities," Levelston said. "Eventually I decided that my best path forward was still going to be tennis and then decided after that I would go into the portal.”
After a methodical process in the portal, Levelston landed on BYU. But why BYU?
For Levelston, it was more than just about tennis. For her, the relationships that she quickly made with her now teammates and coaches were the deciding factor. Specifically, her relationship with teammate Avery Pope was the biggest factor in choosing BYU.
LET’S GO GRACIE pic.twitter.com/MV5kRKx0p1
— BYU Women's Tennis (@byuwtennis) February 2, 2025
“ I absolutely lover her … we hung out all the time and we had a sleepover like six days in a row. We got really close in a short amount of time," Levelston said. "On my visit she was a great person, and there was one instance where she stood up for me. I thought to myself, 'Okay, if I come here I will be in good hands.'”
Her relationship with Pope contributed to Levelston finding a safe place at BYU for her to continue her career and education.
In a way, Levelston's career is similar to a grape. Athletes and grapes can get injured or bruised, however under the correct care they can once again become healthy or crispy.
Now at BYU, Levelston has rediscovered her fire for tennis and has dominated on the court for BYU. Between playing singles and tennis, Levelston continues to keep an open mind on the future, both on and off the court.
“My biggest piece of advice would be to figure out what your timeline is going to look like," Levelston said. "Figuring out your timeline is not always going to look like others [timeline ]… But it’s still possible, even if it’s not on your time.”