Megha Tenneti '24 Recruiting Profile

I am a seventeen-year-old, high school tennis player from East Providence, Rhode Island. I grew up in Reno, Nevada and previously attended the Davidson Academy.

Ever since I picked up a tennis racquet, I fell in love with the sport. I applied the sense of discipline I attained from my parents, as well as growing up in Tae Kwon-do, to every lesson I took, even if I was only able to play once a month. 

At the beginning of my season at Reno High, our family got into a better situation financially, and I was able to start attending an academy in Reno regularly. Though I had the fight in me, I lacked the physical advice needed to sustain this schedule. After seeing that initial growth stage, I wanted to push myself more and, consequently, got injured. However, I started not only working harder, but smarter, by attending rehab and learning how to take care of my body. At the beginning of my sophomore season at Reno High School, I was mostly recovered and ready to play. On top of school practices, I started working with a technical coach--Lucie Conklin--as well as a hitting coach--Brandon Sulzberg--to finetune my technique/spin and increase consistency. At this point in my athletic career, I was able to see the most progression. My parents started taking me to SJTA and USTA circuit tournaments in California and even them--first-generation immigrants from India who had always taught us to prioritize education over any extracurriculars--were taken aback by how much I had improved. However, I was so caught up in my physical progression, I completely stopped paying attention to my mental health. In order to explain my story, addressing my mental health struggles is of the essence. 

Ever since I was little, I dealt with a tremendous amount of anxiety and felt like I would never have control over my own body. For most of my life, physical exercise has helped me regain that sense of control, especially tennis. At the point where I was seeing the most growth in tennis, I also became the most emotionally isolated. When my mental health was at its absolute worst, it took over two years of self-growth and therapy--amidst moving to Rhode Island at the beginning of my Junior year--to learn to balance all aspects of my well-being.

I hold a deep sense of gratitude for the role tennis played in my recovery, as well as my coaches and family members who have been there for me during the toughest--but most enlightening--of times. Recently, I have realized that my "Why?" for wanting to play college tennis is to find my second family among the girls on my team and continue working hard to contribute to something bigger than myself.

I am such a hard worker, and my personal struggles have only added to my sense of determination regarding my academic and athletic progression. All the work I have put into myself will allow me to focus on tournaments, as well as my team in my 2023-2024 senior season. Individually, I will be competing as a prospective DI Rhode Island All-State champ. Currently, I am training 5-6x at the club Centre Court. Over the summer I have planned to visit Reno to train and play in NorCal USTA, as well as visit Coach Sulzberg in New York and compete in New England USTA.