Athletes looking to turn professional often use college as a steppingstone. So when sophomore tennis player Tanvi Shah left the pro tour to attend college, many people questioned her decision.
Some people thought that Shah left "the perfect life," training with the Indian team and playing on the pro tour year round.
But Shah needed to take an alternative route.
Shah transferred from North Carolina State following her freshman season last spring. She arrived at Buffalo in the fall and emerged as the number one singles player on the women's tennis team. However, her journey stretches far beyond the trip from Raleigh to Buffalo and has taught her that the best way to succeed isn't always right in front of you.
"People who really want to make it come to [Bollywood, India] to make money or get into movies," Shah said. "It's like a city of dreams. But, since I come from there and have a family, it's not as much as a struggle for me. But, you learn from it. It's addictive, that life. You're always wanting to be there, work hard and achieve want you want."
Shah's life began in India, but has had many stops along the way.
Shah's mother flew home to India to give birth to her and returned to their home in the Jakarta Capital Region, Indonesia just six weeks later. Nine years later, her family moved to Singapore and lived there for two years before returning to India. Shah's father believed she needed to grow up immersed in Indian culture. Her family then moved to Mumbai, India so she could attend the Podar International School.
When she first decided to go there, academics was the most important thing to her. Podar has an affiliation with the University of Cambridge and delivers a top tier education. However, Shah excelled in the vast Indian tennis culture and was ranked the No. 1 under-16 player in the country. Academics took a backseat to the life on the court - and on the road.
Shah was allowed to miss class for tennis tournaments because she knew her principal from her previous school. Her education was pushed aside for dreams of playing professionally.
"I actually didn't want to go to college," Shah said. "After a while I was doing really well in juniors. I was number 130 in the world, so I played a junior grand slam. After that, I started to play a couple women's tournaments. I didn't seem to be doing that well and I know you need to be patient and give it some time. So I decided that maybe I should go to the States, get a degree and come back and play pro some more."
She picked the U.S. for college because she wanted to be able to play at a high level while getting her degree - something that would be nearly impossible if she had continued to play professionally.
She wanted to get that degree now because she wasn't playing well on the pro tour, and determined that she needed to get an education in case her struggles continued.
After getting scholarship offers from several schools, Shah chose NC State because she had two friends on the team that she had competed with in India.
She enrolled in January of 2011 and jumped right into the season. She saw some playing time, but at the bottom of the lineup because NC State was a nationally ranked team. She wanted to be the leader on her team so she decided to transfer.
Buffalo was one of the schools Shah reached out to and it didn't take long for head coach Kathy Twist to return the call.
Shah had returned home to India, and was still adjusting to the 12-hour time difference when her mother brought the phone to her bed. Twist and Shah started a series of phone conversations and Shah met Twist's criteria of being a good student, a nice person, and obviously, a good tennis player.
"I like what she said about competition," Twist said. "'I want to come and play number one for your team and I'm thinking of going to the pros and I heard that you develop players and I would like to be one of those players.' So she had the desire and credentials to back up what she said."
Twist's expectations were quickly met as Shah emerged as the team leader, both on and off the court. She has the best singles record on the team, despite having to play the best opposing player in every match.
Shah and junior Tamara Markovic have been known to call players only meetings in order to try and improve the play of the team.
"If you have a peer say to you, 'this is what I do, why don't you go out and try it?' It's a lot more powerful," Twist said and I have never seen a team win a championship without good leadership within the team. You've got to have that leadership inside the team, that's the voice."
However, her leadership off the court is what makes Shah such a valuable asset to the team. The other players look to follow her example because of where tennis has taken her and not just her ability.
"She is very respectful and very caring [to] everyone," said sophomore Anamaria Candanoza, Shah's best friend and roommate. "She's always caring about the team and what's going on with each of us. [It's because of] her life and the way she grew up, how she has been traveling and has met a lot of people. That makes her care about all of us and she knows that we all need to be a team."
After college, Shah would like compete at the pro level again, despite the tough traveling schedule. However, if that doesn't work out, she would like to help other professional athletes, especially tennis players manage their careers so they can be successful.
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