The Intercollegiate Tennis Association has honored University of Virginia tennis player Natasha Subhash with the national Arthur Ashe Jr. Leadership and Sportsmanship Award.
“It was definitely such a huge honor,” says Subhash about receiving the award. “Arthur Ashe is someone that I grew up looking up to and was extremely inspired by. He’s such a big role model for a lot of young tennis players, so being compared to him was incredible.”
The award honors collegiate tennis players at the regional and national levels who demonstrate “outstanding sportsmanship and leadership, as well as scholastic, extracurricular and tennis achievements,” in the spirit of tennis legend Arthur Ashe Jr.
A two-time academic all-American and a four-time ITA all-American, Subhash has excelled both athletically and academically during her time at UVA. She played for Virginia four years as an undergrad, and will play a fifth season while she works toward a master’s degree in accounting.
“I definitely just want to make the most of it, train as hard as possible, and meet all of our goals for the team,” says Subhash. “I know we have team goals of winning conference championships and the NCAA tournament as well. I think … [achieving] our full potential as a team in my last year would be amazing.”
During her time with the team, Subhash has gained experience both on and off the court. “I was fortunate enough to be co-captain the last two years,” she says. “I think just being in that role, I’ve learned a lot about what it means to lead.”
Subhash has played tennis since the age of 4, and attended Pass Academy, a tennis preparatory school, prior to arriving at UVA. During her time at PA, she trained under founder Bob Pass, and cites her coach as a major source of inspiration. “Unfortunately, he passed away last summer. I think it would have been really awesome for him to see me get this award this year,” she says. “He inspired me a lot to … be the person I am today.”
While in high school, Subhash made her competitive debut as a singles and doubles player, winning four titles before starting college.
She considered turning pro after college, but Subhash has decided not to play competitively when she finishes her master’s degree. “I still want to make the absolute most of my tennis while at UVA, so that hasn’t changed my drive while I’m in school,” she says. “I want to fully succeed in [tennis] while I’m here, but I think I’ll probably stop when I graduate and just focus on my career after that.”
“I’ll probably take a break for a little bit. I have some minor injuries that need some rest to fully heal,” says Subhash. “Eventually, I’ll definitely come back to it and play for fun, or play with my friends. I don’t think it’ll ever be completely out of my life because it’s been the biggest part of my life since I can remember.”