California Irvine Athletics

Rohan Sachdev
Year: Graduate Student
Height: 6-0
Hometown: Cary, N.C.
Previous College: Georgia Tech
High School: Enloe HS
Major: Master of Finance

Graduate transfer Rohan Sachdev comes to UC Irvine after three years at Georgia Tech. Last season, he was a team captain but did not play during the spring due to an injury. As a junior, he won nine singles matches in ACC play and helped the Yellow Jackets beat nationally-ranked Duke, North Carolina, and NC State. Sachdev was a blue-chip, five-star recruit according to Tennis Recruiting Network.

How did you get started playing tennis?
I started when I was six years old. My dad used to play, and I grew up playing a bunch of sports. I just fell in love with tennis because of the competitive nature, how it depends on you, and how the outcome is based on the effort on the court.
 
Who has been your biggest inspiration?
I would say in the greater world of sports, probably Kobe Bryant; the Mamba Mentality is the kind of mindset I had during high school. In tennis, right now I would say (Jannik) Sinner because of how he he came back from the French Open to win Wimbledon.
 
Where did you grow up and what is your favorite thing about your hometown?
I grew up in Boston. It was freezing cold, but I loved where I grew up because of the friends I had when I was very young. We moved when I was about eight, but I thought Boston was a pretty cool place to grow up.
 
Tell us a little about your previous college experience.
I actually started my first year at Purdue and I loved it there. Unfortunately, we had a coaching change, and I entered the transfer portal. Georgia Tech was one of the first schools I looked at when I was in the portal because I knew the coaches really well. I thought it was an amazing decision because of how much they developed me, and the whole team there was very welcoming. We had a guy who was 400 in the world and beat some top 100 players, but he put himself in a position where he was a servant leader. I felt like I met my closest friends there and we did some really good things as a team.
 
Why did you choose UCI for your final collegiate season?
I have cousins in Irvine and I always visit during Christmas so I knew the area was really good. Then, the team obviously did some great things last year, and I've heard only the best things about Coach Mike, so that was the key factor. Just talking to Coach Mike, I could see that I had a true connection with him, and I felt he was a very genuine person.
 
What is the goal for this season?
The goal is to win the Big West again, that would be a third year in a row; just keeping that going is the biggest thing. Then, hopefully we can scrap a big win against a team like UCLA or USC to get the season started.
 
What is your post-tennis career goal?
I want to go into wealth management. I like how that part of finance is not just quantitative, but that I can work with people. I feel like I've always done well with people. I was the team captain at Georgia Tech last year, and a lot of that was interpersonal connections. So I want to be in a job where it's not just Wall Street and numbers, but where I can actually talk to people and have a flexible schedule.