Sasha was born in the Ukraine and moved with her parents to Israel when she was 8 years old. At the age of 9 a representative from the Selma and Irving Ettenberg Israel Tennis & Education Center in Haifa stopped by her school to talk about the center and recruit young people interested in becoming future Israeli tennis stars. Shortly thereafter she met ITEC founder Ian Froman and for the next 5 years Sasha lived, breathed and played tennis at the center while representing the ITEC at tournaments around the world.
“Having this kind of opportunity for me was a life changer,” Sasha recalled. “Being the only child of two hard working Russian immigrant parents, I would have never gotten the chance to experience the world and develop as a person if it had not been for the ITEC. It was a very welcoming environment which made me feel like I was part of a 2nd family.”
Following her two year military obligation, Sasha came to the US and enrolled on a full tennis scholarship at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst where she excelled on the court and in the classroom. As a senior, she went undefeated in both singles and doubles, being named Captain and leading her team to the Eastern Collegiate Doubles Championships. Upon graduating from UMass, Sasha landed a coveted position at Citigroup in New York City where she quickly rose through the ranks of the prestigious financial institution. Today she is Director of Citigroup’s Global Equity Platform Sales Group, marketing new products to prospective clients around the world. She gives back to the Israel Tennis & Education Centers by actively supporting the organization as it embarks on its 40th anniversary.
“Being introduced to the ITEC at such an early age was a blessing for me,’ Sasha fondly recalls. “The life skills and especially the values I learned there have been a big reason for my success today. That is why, whenever I get a chance to go back to Israel to see my family, I stop by the center to give back to the children who are there now. I know that the help I received helped me immeasurably, and I am inspired to pass along those same lessons to the children who come to the center now.”