The Queens College women’s tennis team has been dominant this season, starting out 5-0 overall and 3-0 in East Coast Conference play while the standout of the team, junior Reehan Rashad, looks to be head and shoulders above the competition.
Despite suffering her first loss in singles competition last week, she has been outstanding throughout the season so far.
The loss was a close match that went three sets. That same day Rashad and her doubles partner, junior Laura Ortega Jover, won their match 8-4 to improve to 5-0 on the season as a duo.
For Rashad the success comes from a lifetime of dedication and hard work, having played tennis since she was six years old.
Spending nearly her whole life playing tennis has clearly given her strong skills, as she is 4-1 in singles, 5-0 in doubles and is on track to have a great season all while leading a team that looks to be the favorite in the ECC.
When asked how she has improved so much over the course of her playing career she said “Just training and working hard.” She went on to say”I practice by myself a lot and also practicing with my personal coach has just helped me to get better.”
The training has, of course, led Rashad to being viewed as a very strong player on an undefeated team. However, training is not the only thing that has helped Rashad out. She credits her accomplishments to her ability to evolve her playing style which, in turn, makes her an even better player.
Good athletes are able to use their talents to succeed, but great athletes are able to improve or change their game in order to become even better and Rashad likes to change it up just a bit so she can improve her play even further.
Rashad has high hopes for her future. When asked what she wants out of tennis her response was simple: “I want to play professional tennis.”
She also added that her favorite player is Maria Sharapova and she would love to be able to play at that level.
Sharapova is a five-time Grand Slam champion and was No.1 ranked female tennis player in the world multiple times throughout her career, and seems to be the right role model for a player who is dominating the level she is playing at.
Coupling Rashad’s optimism with her skillset, it isn’t far-fetched to imagine her playing professionally at the end of her college career.
