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While many begin playing tennis around 6, or even younger, Crawford didn’t officially pick up a racket until she was 11.

But Crawford doesn’t see her late start as a disadvantage. Instead, she sees it as something of an advantage.

“I never felt burnt out or tired of the sport, which I really am grateful for,� she said. “Especially with playing a high school sport, you see a lot of people get burnt out and tired and I just never lost the feeling for tennis.�

The fire within Crawford has only grown throughout the last six years, especially when she joined the girls tennis program at CDO, which has had a couple of good seasons in the last few years, including this season.

The Dorados nearly went undefeated in the regular season that ended on Monday. CDO went 9-1 in its division, with an overall record of 13-1.

Salpointe Catholic handed CDO its first season loss in a 5-4 win on April 15.

Despite the chance of having a perfect season go out the door, Crawford wasn’t brought down by defeat because the narrow loss showed the team’s progress over the last year.

“Last year when we played Salpointe, we had lost to them, like, 2-7,� Crawford said. “So, this year we were just like, ‘All right, we’re just gonna have fun. We’re gonna go in (and do our best).’ We came out and we still lost, but it was 5-4, so we narrowed that gap and as a team, we felt so good about ourselves and confident in our skills. And we have an amazing supportive team all the way down to the end of JV, who stay and watch, and we all want each other to do better and feel supported on the team.�

CDO finished its season with a 9-0 win against Sahuaro and an 8-1 win against Pusch Ridge, ahead of the upcoming state tournament.

The AIA Girls Tennis State Championship begins at the end of this month, followed by singles and doubles events that start in May.

Crawford is looking forward to competing in the doubles event with her partner Scarlett Bakken. This year marks the third straight year the duo has competed in the doubles event, making it as far as the semifinals during their first state appearance during their sophomore year.

“We were not expecting anything, especially as sophomores, and we made it all the way to the semis,� Crawford said. “And even though we lost, it was almost like, ‘Wow, we just did that.’ We went through all those teams and we put in so much work and it really showed. It surprised us both. It surprised the team. It just felt like we accomplished something so big.

“Last year, we made it to the quarterfinals (as a team) and this year, I’m hoping we make it all the way to the end. And for the individual (event), I want to make it to the end, as well. We’ve come so close over the past two years that getting that one step further would be amazing.�

Even with the pressure that comes with participating in the state tournament, Crawford is feeling relatively calm, mostly due to her supportive teammates and coach.

“I feel like she’s my student-athlete of the week every week,� said Linda Lucas, CDO’s girls tennis head coach. “We just really appreciate all she does for the team, all the assistance she gives the coaching staff and how much she helps out.�

Lucas describes Crawford as a “great leader� who always goes above and beyond without anyone asking, whether that’s leading warm-ups during the team’s practice session or staying behind to help remove rocks and mud blocking the tennis court’s gate that prevented it from closing completely.

On and off the court, Crawford puts her all into everything she does, often putting in additional time and effort to make the best of every situation.

“I’m definitely a nurturing person, so half the time I don’t even realize that I’m doing extra work. It’s something I just love doing,� she said.

When Crawford isn’t serving it up on the court, she regularly volunteers at the Desert Springs Retirement Living community center.

The volunteer gig started as a way to earn community service hours for a class at school, but later became a part of her weekly routine because she loved interacting with the residents.

And they’ve made a connection with her, too.

During the community’s yearly auction a few weeks ago, a resident in the community purchased six 12-packs of ginger ale.

Curious about the packs of soda, Crawford asked the woman how she planned to get that many packs back to her room.

“Oh, I don’t know. I might just have to keep it down here,� the resident told Crawford.

That’s when Crawford’s natural nurturing instinct kicked in as she began loading up the boxes of soda onto the resident’s walker.

Crawford walked next to the resident as she made her way down the halls to her room, making sure the boxes didn’t fall off the walker, but also ensuring that none of the other residents attempted to snag a soda.

“As she was going through the halls, the other residents were asking for her ginger ale and she was so mad,� Crawford said. “She was like, ‘No, this is mine. I paid for it.’ It was so funny.�

You’ll always find Crawford trying to do the right thing and help out wherever she can, Lucas says.

“She’s maturing into a great young woman,� she said of Crawford. “When I met her, she was kind of a silly sophomore, but serious about her tennis. But now, she just has such a broader view of things, of life, of working with people and knowing where she wants to go with her life.�

Tennis will always be a big part of Crawford’s life, which is something she could’ve never predicted when she started playing the sport on a whim.

While attending one of her father’s tennis practice sessions several years ago, his coach gave Crawford an extra racket so she could play, too.

“I started playing with my dad and I was like, ‘My God. I feel so big,’� she said. “And I felt so strong playing. Ever since then, just playing with my dad or him being there at all my matches has really been a big motivator for me.�

Since then, Crawford has enrolled in private tennis lessons, joined a tennis club and made the varsity team at CDO.

But despite her deep passion for tennis, it hasn’t always been an easy journey for Crawford, who has dealt with a painful foot condition where a bony bump develops on the side of the foot near the big toe.

She’s lived with the condition on both feet for a few years, but the pain finally came to a head this past summer and Crawford underwent surgery on her right foot to help relieve the pain.

“I was in a boot and on crutches for the entire summer,� she said. “And it was just a real testament that hard work does pay off. I was so down. I remember being like, ‘Oh, I’m not gonna play. My feet are hurting so bad and now I need surgery,’ but I came back and now it almost doesn’t affect me, the fact that I wasn’t able to play the whole summer. … They’re (the bumps) not gone, and I still deal with the pain every match, but it’s definitely better.�

Pain or not, Crawford is determined to find a way to keep playing tennis — even after she graduates this spring.

Later this year, she’ll be attending the University of Oregon to study psychology with a focus on family and human services. She hopes to become a counselor.

“It was definitely a hard decision (to choose Oregon),� she said. “I have a younger sister who is going to be a sophomore next year and we’re really close and … I want to do something where it makes it fun for her to come see me, or any of my family, we’re all really close, to come see me, and I can come back and have that special homecoming. So, when I toured Oregon, I was like, ‘Oh my God, I think I finally found my place.’ The community is so supportive and the nature up there is beautiful. It just felt like that’s where I needed to be for my next chapter.�

Although she won’t play tennis at Oregon, she plans to play intramural tennis or find a club team in the area because you can’t keep her away from the sport for too long.

“Jordan has always been in love with tennis since I’ve known her,� Lucas said. “She takes lessons and she’s very motivated to improve and support her teammates and she loves playing doubles. … I hope she’s a lifelong tennis player. I don’t know if she will play at the collegiate level or beyond, but it’s something that she’s very good at and that she can have a lot of fun with her whole life.�

Fast Five with Jordan

Who’s your tennis idol?

Serena Williams or Coco Gauff. They’re that dominating force on the court. I think a lot of times people view women’s tennis as more of a slow baseline game and once they’re on the court, they are going after every shot. It’s just a quick, fierce game.

°Â³ó²¹³Ù’s one item you must have with you when going to a match?

I need my towel. My hands are so sweaty all the time. If I don’t have that thing, that racket is flying out of my hands.

°Â³ó²¹³Ù’s one step in your pre-match routine?

I always got that slicked-back bun. I mean, that hairline is receded. I just need that hair out of the face, making sure it just makes me feel ready and confident.

What advice would you give to younger aspiring tennis players?

For upcoming high school players, I think the biggest thing is knowing how to celebrate your successes just as much as you’re celebrating others. Tennis is such an individualized sport and it can be hard to wrap your head around, ‘We are a team, we’re doing this together,’ and you can get caught up in like, ‘I want to beat the person ahead of me,’ ‘I want to be No. 3 or I want to be No. 2,’ when sometimes that can blur into your own skills and you start falling down this hole of, ‘I don’t think I’m good enough,’ or ‘I don’t know if I’m doing this right.’ So, I think just being there for your team, celebrating you and your teammates the same.

°Â³ó²¹³Ù’s your current favorite class?

I’m taking AP Psychology and it’s definitely my most interesting class that I’ve had, partly because I can relate it to what I want to do the most. It’s a weird feeling learning about your mind and how that works while you’re picturing yourself and you’re like, ‘Oh, shoot, this kind of explains a lot.’ I just find that so interesting.