Paola Bou Represents Puerto Rico At Billie Jean King Cup
How the tennis standout battled through adversity to become a leader on the Army West Point women's tennis team and represented Puerto Rico in an international tennis competition
On October 22, 2021, Paolo Bou was sitting in a hotel room with her sister getting acclimated to the 12,000-foot altitude of La Paz, Bolivia preparing to represent her home territory of Puerto Rico on the tennis courts at the Billie Jean King Cup.
This experience, an amazing one in of itself, did not seem possible to Bou four years ago when she began the admission process into the United States Military Academy.
Bou’s relentless perseverance and drive helped her overcome the numerous obstacles in her path on her way to becoming one of the most important pieces to the success of the women’s tennis team at Army West Point over the past four years.
ON HER WAY TO WEST POINT
I came up on my visit and I absolutely fell in love with the placePaolo Bou talking about her first visit to the United States Military Academy
How does a Puerto Rican native end up at the world’s preeminent leadership development institution? Well in Paolo Bou’s case, it all started with a simple email message from the Army West Point women’s tennis assistant coach, Martha Rowley.
“Army West Point. I didn’t even know what that meant or what it was, but it said Army on it,” said Bou. ” I didn’t think I could ever go to the Army coming from where I grew up especially since I didn’t have an Army background. I didn’t know much about the Army, or West Point before I got that email.”
At that time, Bou was attending high school at the John Newcombe Tennis Ranch in New Braunfels, Texas. A friend told her that it was one of the best schools in the country and she should at least go and visit.
“I didn’t know if I should go. I didn’t want to waste their time if I wasn’t interested in going into the Army,” said Bou.
But she took the advice of her friend and had her first meeting with Army women’s tennis head coach, Paul Peck, her junior year of high school. The conversation with Coach Peck changed her perspective and outlook on the Academy. After some more consideration, Bou decided to take the visit to the Hudson Valley and see Post.
“I came up on my visit and I absolutely fell in love with the place,” said Bou of West Point. “Army West Point was the fourth school I took an official visit on. I didn’t like the three other schools I looked at because I knew what I was looking for and none of them had that. I came up here with the expectation that there was no way I would come here. I just thought I’d come up and look but ultimately West Point had exactly what I was looking for."
Despite her previous doubts, Bou committed later that year, ready and excited to become a West Point Cadet.
“I fell in love with this place. I loved what it stands for. I loved the team dynamic. I loved the coaches. I loved what the Cadets stand for. I just loved the whole commodity and the West Point build.”
59-MONTH JOURNEY
I have a lot of respect for Paola for her determination and resilience while overcoming many obstacles to get to this point in her West Point experience.Army West Point Head Women's Tennis Coach, Paul Peck talking about Paolo Bou
Bou, a native of Bayamon, Puerto Rico, had a long-winded journey just to even begin her education at the Academy. After spending a post-grad year at the Marion Military Institute to adapt to the requirements of a Cadet, Bou arrived on Post for Cadet Basic Training (CBT) in 2017. Unfortunately for Bou, her 47-month journey turned into a 59-month journey after being medically out-processed due to complications throughout CBT. Bou would spend the year at home resting and recovering from her complications.
Forced to take a gap year, the tennis standout was urged to consider her options. However, she stuck with it, motivated to return to the Academy the following year and accomplish her goal of becoming a Cadet.
“I knew this is what I wanted to do,” said Bou. “At that point, I owed it to myself. I knew that I belonged here, and I wanted to give myself that chance.”
“I have a lot of respect for Paola for her determination and resilience while overcoming many obstacles to get to this point in her West Point experience,” said Peck.
Bou returned to Post for the 2018-19 academic calendar for another CBT session and completed all requirements to be admitted into the USMA Class of 2022. Her efforts paid off almost immediately, as she became an impact freshman on the women’s tennis team.
“Paola has been an important part of our team and has been a mainstay in our lineup since her plebe year in both singles and doubles,” said Peck. “Since her first day at practice, she has always given 100 percent and has the total respect of her teammates. She is a consummate teammate and always puts the team first.”
Bou notched 20 wins on both the singles and doubles courts as a freshman, leading the team in singles victories with 12 while playing primarily at the fifth singles spot. She followed up her stellar plebe season with a 27-win campaign as a yearling.
With her strong performance, Bou had established herself as one of the top players in the Patriot League in both singles and doubles. Her junior season did not go as planned, as she and the team would have their season cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Although the pandemic took away a lot of opportunities from Bou, it also provided her with one that she never thought she would have.
THE BILLIE JEAN CUP
That different road that I took go to where I am today and has molded into the person I am today, and I am extremely grateful for it.Paolo Bou on her West Point journey
The Billie Jean King Cup - also known as the World Cup of Tennis – played annually, is currently the largest international team competition in women’s sport with 116 countries competing in 2020-21. The tournament was scheduled to be played in the summer of 2021 at different host sites around the globe.
When it was time for the Puerto Rican Tennis Association (PRTA) to choose their pool of players to represent the island in the tournament, it chose Bou and her sister, Julianne, who is a senior on the women’s tennis team at the University of Connecticut.
“My sister and I have always had a good relationship with the PRTA,” said Bou. “At first, the tournament was supposed to take place over the summer so when my PR coach asked me to participate, I told him that my graduation requirements take precedent and went off to Cadet Leadership Development Training (CLDT).”
After a COVID disruption impacted the host site in Bolivia, the Billie Jean King Cup was postponed until October 2021. Bou jumped at the opportunity to reclaim her spot on the Puerto Rican team. After her leave got approved, she was off to Bolivia to compete on October 22.
Bou and her sister Julianne made up two of the four representatives for Puerto Rico in the tournament.
In her three matches playing on the tennis courts in La Paz, Bou and the Puerto Rican Team went 1-2; defeating Barbados 3-0 and falling in close contests with Honduras and Bolivia. Bou led her team to a 3-0 sweep of Barbados with a 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 win over her opponent on the first singles court.
“I love playing for both West Point and Puerto Rico equally as much. The pride, happiness, and humbleness I feel while representing either place brings me immense gratitude. It is truly an indescribable feeling,” said Bou of the experience. “I am extremely lucky and blessed to have the support of the coaches, instructors, teammates, and friends just to even be able to be here.”
It has been a long, strange journey for Bou, who branched Field Artillery in December 2021 and plans to apply to be part of the Funded Legal Education Program (FLEP). Bou is looking forward to becoming an officer and taking advantage of the opportunities the Army will grant her.
“That different road that I took go to where I am today and has molded into the person I am today, and I am extremely grateful for it.”
