A COURTLY GESTURE

Bernadette Bayani naturally favors taking leads against her junior tennis opponents, something like 30-15 or 40-love.

But when it came to dividing up a $1,000 award she earned by winning the recent Quiksilver Main Event High School Championships, Bayani split everything 50-50.

In this case Bayani went for an ace down the middle, donating $500 each to the girls’ tennis programs at Royal and Simi Valley high schools.

“I wanted to be fair,” said Bayani, a Simi Valley resident who attends Royal but was a frequent hitting partner of former Simi Valley High standout Mindy Gondrez last season.

“I didn’t want to give to one school and not the other one.”

As an amateur, Bayani was not allowed to keep the prize money. But the gift still surprised the beneficiaries.

“At first, I thought it was going to be for the athletic department in general,” said Jane Forrester, the Royal coach. “I didn’t realize it was actually going to be earmarked for us. I just think it’s so cool that she would do something like that. I’m thrilled.”

So is Coach Rob Wickwire of Simi Valley.

“I was a little surprised because she goes to Royal,” he said. “That’s just really something.”

Bayani, 16, has been something special among junior players in the region for some time.

She is ranked No. 4 nationally in the girls’ 18 division by the U.S. Tennis Assn. In the Quiksilver event, the top-seeded Bayani defeated second-seeded Luana Magnaniof Pasadena, the nation’s top-ranked player in girls’ 16s, 6-3, 6-1, in the singles final Sept. 6 at the Costa Mesa Tennis Center.

“I was hoping I’d win it this year,” said Bayani, a senior who returned to Royal after participating in an independent-study program last year.

“I felt like I played well the whole tournament this time, where last year I felt like I could have played a lot better.”

Last year, she lost to Maureen Diaz of Glendale in the singles final after advancing by default.

The Quiksilver title came on the heels of a successful USTA season in which Bayani was 30-6.

She advanced to the girls’ 18 final of the Southern California junior sectional tournament before falling to Candice Fuchs of San Diego, 6-4, 6-4, in June. With that showing, Bayani became the No. 2-ranked player in the division in Southern California.

She also was a member of a Southern California team of 18- and 16-and-under players that beat a team from Northern California in the 26th annual Maze Cup in Bakersfield, and she advanced to the round of 16 for the first time in the U.S. National Hardcourt Championships last month in San Jose.

At 5 feet 3 and 112 pounds, Bayani doesn’t win with power. She uses good technique on her ground strokes and a strong court sense to outduel opponents.

“She’s got good, solid shots everywhere, and she can handle any situation,” said Craig Heinberg, Bayani’s private coach for eight years.

Bayani also has benefited from improved conditioning.

“Even though she’s not very strong, she can handle people who are stronger than she is,” Heinberg said. “[Bernadette] and I have been out there six or seven hours every day for the past year or so, and I think she’s basically in better shape than any other girl in Southern California.

“I think there were [about] three matches this year where the other girl was playing really well, but she basically wore them down at the end.”

Bayani, who has never played on a high school team, has been one of the better players in the region almost from the start of her junior career.

As a 9-year-old in 1992, Bayani won the girls’ 10 division of the Southern California sectional tournament and was selected to play at the Forum before an exhibition between John McEnroe and Andre Agassi.

“That was the best year I’ve had in my life,” Bayani said. “I was playing great that year, and because I was winning so much, I wanted to keep playing.”

And winning.

Bayani also reached No. 1 in Southern California in the girls’ 12 division. At 13, she began playing at the next level.

The rapid advancement slowed as competition grew tougher in the 14s and 16s.

But as a 15-year-old in April 1998, Bayani won the girls’ 18 competition at the Ojai tournament. Since then, she has been among the top five players in the juniors’ highest division.

“It’s coming back,” Bayani said. “I think it’s all confidence, and I’m getting more confident and going for my shots more and more.”

Bayani has committed to attend USC on a tennis scholarship next fall. She plans to take her best shots at college and, eventually, professional competition.

“I want to know what it feels like to be the best,” she said. “It used to be I wanted to know what it felt like to be on top by the time I was 16 or 17.

“Now, I don’t care about what age it happens. I just want to know what it feels like.”