A story like Natalia Barbery’s is hard to come by. Moving internationally multiple times. Learning a new language. Engaging in a difficult major. Having Ivy League aspirations. With all of this on her plate, playing tennis at the Division I level is just the icing on the cake.
The lone senior on Bradley’s tennis roster hails from Bolivia, a place Barbery says is not very keen on tennis. Nestled in the heart of South America, the country largely defines its athletic drive through soccer, and only two Bolivian players have ever cracked the top 100 professional tennis rankings.
“[Our school] made us play volleyball, track, softball, soccer, but we didn’t have tennis courts at the school,” Barbery said.
With her parents encouraging her to pick up a physical activity, Barbery first chose ballet and gymnastics. However, after moving to a house just minutes away from a club with tennis courts, Barbery’s interest in the sport piqued in grade school.
In fifth grade, Barbery accompanied her mother and brother in moving to Florida. With the move came hurdles, such as learning English and adjusting to school in different months of the year. Since Bolivia lies in the Southern Hemisphere, the seasons are switched, meaning a typical American summer break occurs in Bolivia’s winter months.
Like a tennis ball during a rally, Barbery frequently traveled back and forth between Florida and Bolivia.
After an eight-month stint learning English and readying herself for a switch in schools, she returned to an American-run school in her native country for a year. She returned to America to play tournaments for one year in junior high before once again journeying back south of the equator.
Barbery came back to the U.S. in high school, attending Evert Tennis Academy. Located in Boca Raton, Florida, the academy was founded by former world No. 1 player Chris Evert.
“I would practice from 7 to 10 a.m., then have school from 10 to 2:30 p.m., then play tennis again from 3 to 5 p.m.,” Barbery said.
During her time in Florida and at Bradley, the Braves tennis stalwart notes a difference in the style of play between Bolivia and the States: the court material. With the Braves tennis squad beginning its 2021 season by playing indoors at The Clubs at River City, the difference from typically tropical Bolivia is stark.
“It’s very different to play indoors because it’s a hard court; it’s a much faster pace,” Barbery noted. “In Bolivia, they play on a clay court, and in the U.S. they play on [a] different type of clay or hard surface. I think since I was little and I switched back and forth, it’s easier for me to adapt.”
While her residencies and court surfaces change, one of Barbery’s mainstays is her doubles partner at Bradley, junior Sandra Maletin. The pair complement each other well on the court and have recently started their fourth year together as doubles partners. Barbery and Maletin have notched 40 doubles wins as Braves, currently the third-best in program history, in addition to receiving first team All-MVC honors in 2019.
The senior has no problem on her own, though, taking home 48 singles victories and counting during her Bradley tenure. The mark puts her at 11th in Bradley Tennis history. Barbery’s determination and will to succeed reaches from the Markin Tennis Courts across Bradley Avenue into the classroom as well.
Barbery is an industrial engineering major and economics minor, giving her an academic focus and courseload atypical of a Division I athlete. The senior doesn’t just win on the court; she took home MVC Women’s Tennis Scholar-Athlete of the Year in 2020. She has even more impressive goals after graduation.
“My dream is to get an MBA in one of the Ivy League schools and then go back to my country to contribute,”Barbery said. “Some days you don’t have the energy to do it, but I’m good at pushing myself and having my priorities straight.”
For the time being, Barbery wants to enjoy her Bradley career to the fullest and help her teammates do the same as well. Those goals take special importance after a season cut short by COVID-19.
“When all those goals were canceled, pretty much, it just threw me off because I’m very determined,” Barbery said.
Before taking the court, the senior leader does her best to convey her newfound perspective to her teammates.
“It’s just crazy how time flies, and before the matches I tell them to enjoy their time on the court,” Barbery said.
When asked to give one word on how to describe the hopes for herself and the Bradley tennis team this season, Barbery pondered for some time before saying, “Champions.”
Given her past experiences and future aspirations, she may already be one.
