After winning three varsity letters as a member of the Wittenberg University Tennis Team, the sky is the limit for team captain Akbar Tiwana, as he looks to finish his senior season by winning more matches, a varsity letter and going for the North Coast Athletic Conference title.
Tiwana grew up in Lahore, Pakistan, where he is a fourth generation tennis player. He followed in his father’s footsteps and began playing tennis at the age of four. His love and passion for the sport grew, and he began dedicating countless hours to perfecting his craft. All of the hard work has paid off for Tiwana because without tennis, he would have never heard of or come to Wittenberg in the first place.
“I left my home in Pakistan to come to Wittenberg because of tennis,” Tiwana said. “I wanted a quality education and to play tennis competitively, which I knew Wittenberg was able to provide for me.”
Since Tiwana began playing tennis 17 years ago, he has been a force to reckon with for opponents all over the world. In high school, he was ranked top 10 nationally, was a team captain and was a member of the gold medalist team and the bronze individual in the Punjab Olympics. His college career has seen similar success with three varsity letters, the title of captain for the 2016-2017 tennis team and countless wins on his record. Tiwana plans to further expand his tennis resume this season and beyond.
“The main goal for this season is to get wins and to go for that conference championship,” Tiwana said. “Personally, I want to improve because I still aspire to become a member of the Pakistan Davis Cup team after college.”
The Davis Cup is basically the Tennis World Cup, in which different countries face each other throughout the year. Tiwana knows this can be a difficult task to accomplish, but with persistence and determination, then anything is possible, especially when you have a family full of tennis players steering you towards success.
“I’m a fourth generation tennis player; it runs in my family,” Tiwana said. “I have my father to thank for where I am with tennis today. Because of him, the sky is the limit.”
Tiwana spoke about his passion for tennis and why it became his favorite sport. He was able to explain his love for the sport with a quote from Pete Sampras, former American tennis player, by saying, “In tennis, you’re all alone out there. It’s just you. You can’t really run away; there is no passing the ball.”
Tiwana is an athlete and student who has big dreams and the ability to realize them. He has earned his spot as captain of the tennis team and looks to finish his senior season strong, improving day by day so that he can one day represent his county at the Davis Cup. Fans can support Tiwana and the rest of the Wittenberg tennis team when the Tigers face off against Capital University on Feb. 18 at 5 p.m. at the Albright Tennis Complex on Wittenberg’s campus.
