Sweden is over 3,700 miles away from Rhode Island; for most people, this would be a dealbreaker when deciding on a college, but that’s not the case for first-year member of the University of Rhode Island women’s tennis team Anastasia Pettersson.
Pettersson, a native of Ydre, Sweden, is majoring in business and is also trilingual; she speaks English, Swedish and Russian. During her time in Sweden, she played for a club called Pavelund TK. URI Head Coach Jonas Brobeck is originally from Sweden and got the opportunity to see Pettersson play for Pavelund TK in Stockholm. Brobeck liked what he saw and began the process of trying to make Pettersson a Ram.
“Anna is very coachable,” Brobeck said. “She listens well and understands and has a high tennis IQ. She is very well educated by coaches, and she knows a lot of tennis.”
Pettersson has made an immediate impact on the team so far this season, as she was named Atlantic 10 Conference Rookie of the Week on Tuesday. Pettersson went 2-0 in singles play and 1-0 in doubles play over the weekend. She helped Rhody pick up a pair of 4-0 victories over George Mason University and George Washington University. The Rams are now 2-0 to start conference play and have won five straight matches.
“You have to learn a new system and new culture,” Brobeck said. “There’s a lot of things that can hit you at the same time, and I think Anna has done a great job of that. I’m very proud of her; she got great grades her first semester. I think the longer the fall went, the better she played.”
Brobeck and Pettersson aren’t the only people on the team with Swedish roots. Fourth-year and team captain Klara Nelander is also from Sweden and played a role in Pettersson choosing URI.
“I talked with Klara over the phone during the recruitment process,” Pettersson said. “It’s been really nice to have someone I can speak my native language with, and she’s helped me adjust to being here, and anytime I have a question, I always feel like I can ask her.”
While there are cultural differences between the United States and Sweden, there are also differences between collegiate tennis and club tennis.
“In Sweden, doubles isn’t emphasized nearly as much,” Pettersson said. “It’s way different here, we play more as a team than individuals. Also in Sweden, it’s a lot quieter while the match is going on, and here there’s people screaming and yelling. We don’t have our coaches on the floor with us in Sweden either, and now they’re standing right next to me during my match, so that’s something that has been different.”
Pettersson is slowly but surely becoming immersed in URI culture; she is a big fan of Caliente, she said. However, she has also bought into the culture that Brobeck has built for his team.
With a record of 12-2 in singles play and 11-3 in doubles, Pettersson is a big reason that Rhody is 13-2 on the season so far as they continue their push to win their first ever A-10 championship.
