Punyae Nagpal '24 Recruiting Profile

I graduate in May 2024 and hope to be on a US college Tennis team. I was introduced to tennis at the age of 8, as my parents moved from a small town in India to Singapore. What started as a recreation soon turned into a great passion, motivating me to overcome the handicap caused by a flat foot through Physiotherapy and exercises. Additionally, I started swimming and mastered all the strokes and levels to rehabilitate my legs. The hunger to excel at tennis led me to be a multi-sport and international athlete. 

My six months stint at a Tennis academy in Thailand at the age of 12, helped me to understand the grind of student-athlete life. I took responsibility for my studies without any help from school and pursued tennis competitively which led me to finish finalist in u12, champion in u14, and champion in u16 (doubles) at the national level along with receiving high honors in grades 9 & 10 in school.

Currently, at 16, I moved to the US in August 2022 due to my dad's job. Giving up a 100% scholarship from my school in Singapore, and transitioning from IB to AP curriculum, not to mention leaving family, friends, and coaches has been quite a challenge.

Playing the sport, I have acquired the characteristics of being indefatigable and overcoming setbacks both on and off the court. In a short period of 4 months, I have bounced back both in academics with an excellent GPA, taking up 4 AP courses and playing at line 1 on the high school team along with improving my UTR.

I have come out of great trials and tribulations and kept moving forward under the guidance of great coaches, teachers, family, and friends. I am all set to thrive in the face of unexpected changes and challenges and handle academic rigor while playing tennis competitively. I look forward to continuing my journey as a student-athlete in a US college.