When Steffi Yakoff ’27 picked up a racket at age four, she had no idea that the sport she had watched her older brother Stan play for years would become such a dominant aspect of her life. By the time she reached college, she could beat her brother—in addition to boasting an undefeated high school record and being named USA Today’s HSSA Girls Tennis Player of the Year. Now a member of Harvard women’s tennis, Yakoff has been a key part of the team’s success thus far this season. It is safe to say that at this point in her career, Yakoff is following in the footsteps of her namesake, tennis star Steffi Graf.
Being 14 years younger than her brother, Yakoff’s first personal experience with the sport came after watching one of his practices. Yakoff shared with the Independent, “Making contact with the ball on my very first swing was something I definitely did not expect.” Furthermore, she shared that after her dad saw her swing for the first time, he knew that she “would be following in [her] brother’s footsteps.” In Yakoff’s words, “he’s my role model, and I’ve always looked up to him growing up.”
Yakoff would continue to grow her game, coached by the same mentors as her brother, and compete at the international level. Instead of opting for homeschooling to increase her time on the court, she decided to attend Fort Lee High School in her home state of New Jersey. Yakoff was able to stay successful in all aspects of her game: balancing homework, her school competition schedule, and tournaments all over the country. Yakoff stated, “What worked for me was definitely staying disciplined and working as hard as I could on the court and in the gym.” She also feels that her numerous commitments taught her “how to balance academics and tennis from a young age.”
In her final year of high school tennis, Yakoff achieved her 63-0 record and won another state title; this long career of success also led to her nomination for the USA Today HSAA Girls Tennis Player of the Year. The award’s selection process involves an evaluation of “statistical analysis, game coverage, and Coach/Athletic Director feedback” by USA Today staff. An initial list of 50 nominees is published online, and the winner is later announced on a live stream. Yakoff shared, “When my family and I tuned into the livestream, I had no idea I would end up winning the award. It was very exciting news, winning the title of one of the best high school tennis players in the nation.” This award was a perfect capstone to Yakoff’s decorated high school career.
Collegiate tennis was the natural next step for Yakoff, as she had watched her brother compete for the men’s tennis team at Steven Institute of Technology. Reflecting on her recruiting process, Yakoff shared, “I knew that I wanted to go to an Ivy League school, and I fell in love with Harvard and the team as soon as I visited.” After coming on an official visit in September of her junior year, she decided to commit to the admissions process.
Transitioning to the Harvard team presented Yakoff with the opportunity to embrace the team mindset she loved from high school competitions in an otherwise individual sport. In her words, “Growing up playing in junior and semi-professional tournaments, you are essentially on your own on the court. There are no coaches to guide you or teammates to cheer you on—it’s just you and your thoughts out there.” Now that Yakoff has joined Harvard women’s tennis, she has enjoyed the feeling of “playing for something bigger than yourself.”
Despite the environment being different from her previous competitions, Yakoff feels that “being on the Harvard women’s tennis team is like having a second family.” She points to both her coaches as well as teammates as positive contributors to the team’s culture of success. Thus far, Yakoff and her doubles partner Holly Fischer ’25 hold a 14-6 record as the #1 doubles seed going into the remainder of the season.
Looking to the future, Yakoff hopes that the team can continue their successful run as she continues to develop her game. Her humble pride also shines through, as she shared, “I’m extremely grateful for this opportunity, the next couple of years, and will cherish every moment.” For this season, she hopes to qualify for the NCAA DI team and individual national championships, in addition to winning a team Ivy League championship—to do so would be a natural transition for Yakoff, channeling her personal goals into team goals.
Kate Oliver ’26 (koliver@college.harvard.edu) ended her tennis career at age 10.