From the outside, roommates Sandhya Nagaraj and Sanaa Bhambri may seem just like best friends going to college together. Upon further investigation, however, it is clear that there is much more to the pair than meets the eye. Individually, Bhambri and Nagaraj are ranked No.’s 32 and 53 by the ITA in singles, respectively. Collectively, they are considered the seventh-best women’s doubles team in the nation and have helped N.C. State become the 42nd-ranked team in the country. Together, the pair finished their fall season with a 13-3 record and has started the spring off strongly with a 3-1 record thus far. Bhambri attributes her success with Nagaraj to the bond they have created over the years.

“We met very early,” Bhambri said. “We met by the time we were 13 in a tournament. I think we’re very open towards one another. We don’t have to think twice to say anything. I think it’s that openness that makes us have so much success with one another and that compliments us on the court. We kind of know what each other is going to do without saying it; we can predict one another.”

Both Nagaraj and Bhambri started playing very young at different ages and in separate parts of India. Bhambri, who is from New Dehli, started playing at the age of seven by following in the footsteps of her older sister. Over 1,000 miles to the south, on India’s east coast, Nagaraj began her tennis journey at the age of nine. Neither one of them knew what the future had in store but tennis eventually brought them together.

“When I was 13, I got selected to play for India,” Nagaraj said. “Sanaa was on the team, too. It wasn’t a big deal then but then I really got into it. After that, we played on and off. We played through several tournaments but I didn’t play many in India because I started training in Europe, in Barcelona.”

Nagaraj, a junior, found her way to N.C. State in 2008 and is currently majoring in sports management while also maintaining athletic excellence. Her presence ended up being one of the deciding factors that eventually brought Bhambri to Raleigh. Bhambri is pursuing a master’s degree and is happy that she found a university that would allow her to follow both her sport and academic desires.

“I wanted to get my MBA and I also wanted to play tennis,” Bhambri said. “Sandhya was already here so I wanted to go somewhere where it was more comfortable to start. I was getting a scholarship for my master’s while also playing, which you cannot do at a lot of schools. I think it just worked out very well to come here.”

When they’re not competing, training or travelling, both Nagaraj and Bhambri like to spend their small amount of free time doing things that most college students enjoy.

“I used to read a lot of books but I don’t really have so much time anymore,” Nagaraj said. “I also like to hang out with my friends. We travel a lot over the spring, which takes up a lot of your free time. I also like to listen to a lot of different types of music. Usually I listen to Coldplay, Nora Jones, Dido, Jack Johnson, and other people like that.”

Bhambri also likes to listen to music, especially when preparing for matches.

“I have to listen to a couple of minutes of music before I walk on the court,” Bhambri said. “The music depends, though. It’s usually kind of soft. Not rap music. My favorite song is Teenage Dream by Katy Perry.”

Individually, Bhambri and Nagaraj have done some pretty amazing things with their tennis careers. Nagaraj reminisced over the time she has spent representing her home country.

“My favorite moment was when I was at the Asian Games,” Nagaraj said. “It’s like the Olympics but just for Asia. It’s once every four years. I got on the team in 2006 and the whole two weeks was just such a blast. I got to represent my country with all the top people in the nation. That was the proudest moment I’ve ever had.”

Neither one of the two know whether or not they want to play professionally after they graduate but they are both focused on making their final season together a successful one.

“It would be nice to go pretty deep in the NCAA tournament,” Nagaraj said. “Last year we barely missed out on NCAA so hopefully, as a team, we make it. This is our last year playing so it would be really nice to get some big wins. We have a really good team this year so it would be great.”