Player Spotlight: Nadja Tse Togasaki

For as long as Nadja Tse Togasaki can remember, tennis has been a part of her life. She started playing tennis at a young age with her dad and brother, and it quickly became a family hobby. Since then, Togasaki has been hooked on tennis and has continued that passion for the sport into adulthood.

Since 2007, Togasaki has been an active participant in Adult Leagues at USTA NorCal, playing in everything from Adult 18 & Over and Adult 40 & Over to Mixed and Combo leagues.

“I didn’t ever play competitively, but I have always enjoyed tennis and I joined leagues as a social outlet,” Togasaki said. “It is a great way to meet people and I have made a lot of lifelong friends through tennis.”

And just like Togasaki grew up playing with her family, she continues that tradition with her husband, who is also a tennis coach and active tennis community member, and her nine-year-old daughter Steffi, whose name is inspired by the famous women’s player Steffi Graf.

“For us, tennis is a time to bond together and get to see each other since life is normally busy,” Togasaki said. “And it is something we are all interested in, so it’s fun to share tennis with each other.”

And with tennis being a family affair, Steffi used to come to some of Togasaki’s Adult League matches and cheer her on and even offer her advice.

Because Togasaki especially loves the social aspect of the sport, she has continued to be active in playing Combo leagues with her partner over the last several years, and even organized her own social doubles on the side among her tennis friends to help everyone get together and stay in touch in a fun and low-pressure environment.

Although the pandemic has put a pause on Togasaki’s organized league play, she hopes to resume again in the future. In the meantime, she is focusing on passing on the many life lessons tennis has taught her to her daughter.

“I want to pass tennis on as a lifetime activity for her health, as well as a social outlet,” she said. “I want her to understand that there are a lot of learning opportunities in this game that can apply to life. You can learn a lot about people through tennis, both your opponent and yourself for self-growth.”