When Sarah Dev stepped onto a plane to travel over seven thousand miles from her native Chandigarh, India to her new home Oxford, Ohio, she had no idea that she would make the return trip only once in the next three years.
Dev is a junior at Miami University, majoring in organizational leadership. She came to Oxford in 2021 to pursue her dream of playing Division I tennis on scholarship.
For the first six months at Miami, Dev was living her dream.
“I’ve always dreamed about coming to America playing college tennis,” she said.
But the distance and time away from family soon began to wear her down. It was tough balancing classes and tennis, but it was tougher for Sarah when she couldn’t be there for her loved ones.
“Reality hits you,” she said. “Six months haven’t seen anybody in the family. I don’t know what’s going on in India. And you never know what can happen to your family.”
She misses home. She misses her parents. She misses Indian dishes that she’s been trying hard to replicate in the United States. She misses her brother who inspired her to play tennis from the age of three.
Dev said that she owes it to her family for her chance to pursue tennis in the US.
“It’s all because of them,” she said. “My father, my brother and my mom. The sacrifices they made for me to play tennis and to come here. I want to just give them like 10 times more than they have done for me.”
Miami’s 2023-24 tennis roster features six international student-athletes, including Dev.
Head coach Ricardo Rosas acknowledges the difficulty of transitioning to college in a different country. But he emphasized how the unique makeup of his team has fostered a strong bond between the girls.
“They become not only good friends but also a family,” he said.
After three years at Miami, Dev has found a family of her own in this unfamiliar place. She found a close friend in teammate Catherine Denysiewicz-Slowek. She found her three roommates who play soccer. They let her take a break from tennis. She found coach Rosas, who has helped her grow not only as a player but also as a person.
“He made me feel like I like tennis again,” Dev said. “Here, tennis is not just for yourself, but you’re playing for a team. So, it’s bigger than what you think. It’s fun in a different way.”
She found a new home at Miami on and off the court.
“She’s very kind,” Rosas said. “If you ask her teammates, you know she’s always gonna bring a smile to your face.”
Like her idol, Roger Federer, Dev is calm and composed on the court. She learned from the icon to always hide her emotions. However, she won’t be so nice when you face her across the net.
“I have to put away emotions,” Dev said. “I have to play it for myself and I have to be competitive. I cannot just be nice on the court.”
For Dev, it’s her responsibility to find success in the US. She left home, her family and India to play tennis and to make a good life.
“It’s like a goal,” she said. “I want to make my family proud.”
Dev plans to visit home this summer, but first, she sets her focus on the MAC Championship that starts at the end of April in Toledo.
