Akanksha Bhan – Women’s Tennis – Ohio State Buckeyes

Collegiate Career

• Graduate transfer from Columbia with two years of eligibility remaining; earned bachelor’s degree in economics in the spring of 2022
• Working toward a master’s in applied economics in 2022-23 and will then pursue a specialized master’s in finance in 2023-24
• Two-time ITA Scholar-Athlete
• Reached as high as No. 65 in ITA singles rankings

Prior to Ohio State

At Columbia

• Three-time Second Team All-Ivy
• Team captain in 2021-22
• Advanced to main draw of ITA All-American Championships in Fall 2019; first player from Columbia to reach main draw
• 2019 ITA Northeast Region Player to Watch
• Has been ranked as high as No. 65 in ITA singles rankings and ended 2022 ranked No. 115
• 49-31 career singles record and 43-38 doubles record
• Yearly singles records overall/dual: 20-6/11-4  (2019), 17-4/4-4 (2020), 12-17/7-12 (2022)
• Yearly doubles records overall: 18-9  (2019), 15-8 (2020), 10-20 (2022)
• Earned ITA Scholar-Athlete honors in 2021 and ’22 and a Three-time Dean’s List honoree at Columbia

High School

• 2018 Junior Australian Open main draw qualifier
• Reached as high as No. 110 in ITF junior rankings and ranked No. 1 in India in Girls U18 in 2018
• Won All-India hard court and clay court singles championships in 2016 and ‘17

Personal

• Parents both attended college in Srinagar, India; Father Ajay played cricket and mother was on the track and field and cross country team
• Older sister Divya played junior tennis at national and international levels and completed her master’s in political communication from Cardiff University in the U.K.
• Plans to play tennis professionally after college
• Enjoys traveling, photography and baking
• On why she chose to be a Buckeye: “Ohio State has one of the best tennis programs in the country and offers a strong academic experience in my interested field of study. A full scholarship to such a strong Big Ten institution will help me enhance my capabilities on the tennis court and in the classroom.”

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