Baasim Akhtar has grown into a confident and reliable player over his four years on varsity boys tennis, especially on the doubles court where he’s built stronger communication and a tougher mentality with his partner. Now a senior, he helps lead the team by giving advice and motivating younger players, emphasizing the importance of effort and consistency.

Akhtar advises underclassmen to, “Go to practices and actually put effort into trying to make yourself a better player, because it actually helps and you can always improve.”

One of his favorite memories came during his junior year, when he won a close match against Antioch in a third-set super tiebreaker, 10–8. Looking ahead, Bassim plans to continue playing tennis recreationally with friends and values how the skills he developed can carry over into other racket sports like pickleball and badminton.

“Go to practices and actually put effort into trying to make yourself a better player, because it actually helps and you can always improve.”