Who is Astra Sharma? The Winner of WTA Tour title at MUSC Health Women's Open

Australian tennis player Astra Sharma beats 27rh ranked Ons Ons Jabeur 2-6, 7-5, 6-1 on Sunday to win her first WTA title at Charleston, South Carolina.

Astra Sharma won her first WTA tour singles on April 18th by defeating top-seeded Ons Jabeur at the MUSC Health Women’s Open at LTP Daniel Island. The player displayed immense gratitude and stated, “That’s a piece of history that I will always treasure,” Sharma said. “It’s really cool, and I’m happy to have that trophy.” She also added, “It’s rare to finally end a week on a win. Two years ago, I got so close and the nerves got the better of me, and I kind of blew that chance. “This time, I was a lot more calm and just held my nerves really well, especially with Ons playing such high level tennis in the first set.”

Sharma has been ranked  85th in the world and it has also been predicted she may rise to 120th rank on the strength of the victory in her second career singles final. She took home an extravagant check of D29.200 along with a trophy designed to look like a sweetgrass basket, one of the symbols of the Lowcountry.

Here is what we know about the tennis player Astra Sharma:

1. Astra Sharma is an Australian Tennis player with mixed ethnicities, she was born to parents of Indian and Chinese descent brought up in Singapore.
2. Both her parents have a certain sports background, her father Devdutt Sharma was a high-jumper and attended Raffles Institution and the National University of Singapore.
3. Astra's mother, Susan Tan who is Singaporean Chinese was also a sprinter at CHIJ St. Theresa's Convent.
4. Sharma moved to Perth with her parents when she 10 years old and attended Bullcreek Tennis Club for tennis practice as a junior.
5. She made her ITF debut in October 2011, after qualifying in Kalgoorlie.
6. Astra is 25 years old and majored in medicine, health, and society at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee.
7. As a tennis player, she looks up to Justine Henin and Juan Martin del Potro.
8. The highlight of her career was the 2019 Australian Open when she and her fellow partner John-Patrick Smith reached the final of the mixed-doubles competition after receiving a wildcard to enter.
9.  Her father chose her name Astra, which is originally a Sanskrit word meaning, 'the weapon of God' and he hopes that she lives by it.
10. Astra was fond of sports since a young age, in an interview she stated, " love sports myself. I was competitive in track and field in Athletics. I was also a high jumper, triple jumper, and also used to run the middle distances. I played every sport that was available i.e., Cricket, Hockey, Football, and Basketball."
11. She was nicknamed “Roo” by her Vanderbilt teammates and she also received the title of SEC women’s tennis player of the year in 2017.