Name: Kushika Bansal

Grade: 11

Sport: Tennis 

Wingspan: Why did you decide to play tennis? How old were you?

Bansal: “OK, I was just wanting to try different sports and tennis seemed really cool. I started tennis in third grade – I believe – but I was never really serious about it until eighth grade.”

Wingspan: Seeing that you’re a varsity tennis player, how do you feel about where you are today from where you first started?

Bansal: “After eighth grade the summer between eighth and ninth I popped up drastically because I played 3 to 4 hours a day and it really took up a lot of time and effort to get this good. Yeah, I’m still not very good, but I try.”

Wingspan: What motivates you?

Bansal: “It’s the satisfaction of, that, I am doing well. I might not win the match, but it’s the fact that I did my very best.

Wingspan: How do you manage to keep your grades intact as well as playing varsity tennis?

Bansal: “It’s just time management. If you can designate a certain time for you to do your homework, and then when you have to do tennis, it’s not that hard.”

Wingspan: Does being on the varsity team interfere with your daily activities such as homework or hanging out with friends?

Bansal: “I try to make it not affect it as much, but in some cases it does, especially with missing school because of tournaments. But, I mean, my best friend’s in tennis and so we hang out a lot because of that. Otherwise not really.”

Wingspan: What’s your greatest strength or weakness when it comes to tennis?

Bansal: “OK, so currently my back hands are much better than my forehands, and my greatest strength would be that I don’t like to lose, so I will do as much as I can to win my very best.”

Wingspan: What’s your greatest accomplishment as an athlete?

Bansal: “As an athlete, it would probably be that I made varsity freshman year.”

Wingspan: Do you see yourself playing tennis professionally?

Bansal: “I did until I realized I am just not at the level to be able to play professionally. But if I did get a chance, I definitely would.”

Wingspan: What is it that makes being part of the tennis team so special?

Bansal: “It’s the family that you get out of it. It’s support that you can get from your peers. It’s doing something you love with other people who love the same thing.”

Wingspan: What’s the best part about competing?

Bansal: “It’s the feeling you get when you did your very best. And it’s the feeling that you brought something to the school.”

Wingspan: How does being an athlete make you a better person?

Bansal: “I think my mental strength has gotten stronger because you have to keep up your determination. You can’t, like, you can’t let the points beat you down. I think I have physically and mentally gone stronger. It also has improved my teamwork a lot better being able to connect with other people work better, especially in doubles.”

Wingspan: How do you like to spend your free time?

Bansal: “Outside of tennis I’d like to draw, paint, dance, watch TV, and read.”