Stafford’s Ariane Karera, Yvette Karera take girls doubles 4A state championship

Sophomore twin sisters Ariane and Yvette Karera have achieved legendary status at Stafford High.

After leading the school tennis program to its first trip to the state finals, the dynamic duo claimed 4A gold at the Northside Tennis center in San Antonio, easily downing Canyon High in straight sets 6-4, 6-1.

"Congratulations to Ariane Karera and Yvette Karera, all the members of Stafford Municipal School District tennis team, and Coach (Tim) Wood on winning the State 4A Tennis State Championship,” Fort Bend County Judge KP George  posted on Facebook.  “Way to Go! #staffordspartans.”

For the Karera sisters, the day was a long time coming. Going back to when they were just 8-year olds, the two 16-year-olds learned the game from their father, who played in Africa.

Wood told the Fort Bend Star he pretty much knew what he had from the moment he laid eyes on them in sixth grade at Stafford Middle School.

“I heard that there were some pretty good players coming up, so I thought, ‘Let’s see how good they are,’ ” he said. “When they got a challenge, they always rose to it,” he said.

The rest has been history for the still-rising stars, who appeared on the verge of making history as freshmen before COVID-19 stalled things after a loss to Marble Falls’ Faith Academy.

Both insist that experience was a key motivator for them going into this season.

“Usually when you lose, you want to avenge and redeem yourself – then they were all like ‘No more,’ ” Yvette said. “So I was like, ‘I don’t get the chance to redeem myself?’ They hit me, and I didn’t get to hit back.”

Since then, chemistry between the sisters has been virtually off the charts. The two already had a District 23-4A title and a Region IV-4A crown in their bag from this season.

“We already know what the other is doing and what’s going on. We understand each other, so even when we get frustrated and upset we already understand how to deal around those emotions,” Yvette said. “We know how to encourage each other, how to push each other forward and bring out the best in one another. It’s just that knowledge of each other that allows us to play our best.”