Crossing the Net and Crushing Borders

Crossing the net and crushing borders By Ashley Mundy For Plamena Kurteva, tennis was not always the No. 1 sport in her heart. “Actually, I’m not from [an] athletic background, but my brother played soccer,” Kurteva said. “We have four years different —... More

Crossing the net and crushing borders By Ashley Mundy For Plamena Kurteva, tennis was not always the No. 1 sport in her heart. “Actually, I’m not from [an] athletic background, but my brother played soccer,” Kurteva said. “We have four years different — he’s older than me — so I was looking up to him. ” She wanted to follow in her brother Georgi’s footsteps, but there were cultural norms blocking her. “Soccer, in Bulgaria, is not for girls,” Kurteva said. Kurteva, a junior in agricultural economics and member of Auburn’s women’s tennis team, is from Plovdiv, Bulgaria. Growing up, all Kurteva could do was watch her brother play the sport she loved more than any other — soccer. “Right next to the soccer facility, there were tennis courts. I tried (tennis) a few times. I loved it. And I was 5 years old when I first started playing tennis, so it’s a lot of years already playing,” Kurteva said. The sport came to her naturally, and her parents, local farmers in Bulgaria, encourage Less