An Instant Connection
Nick Gruber
It’s been just six months since Maya Dutta and Zdena Safarova arrived at Boise State, and in only 13 matches, this freshman and sophomore have already made a name for themselves.
Dutta, a freshman from Dallas, Texas, was practically born with a racket in her hand, introduced to tennis at age 3 by her father, a former collegiate player at Alabama and Chicago.
Dutta’s commitment to tennis grew as she entered sixth grade, prompting a transition to online school to allow more time for intense practice and travel. She quickly became a top player in her age group, earning a second-place ranking in Texas after two years of near full-time tennis.
From ages 14-18, Dutta began playing internationally while continuing to balance online school. She was traveling across the world, including competitions in Nicaragua, Japan and Australia, often staying abroad for a month at a time.
When Dutta’s recruitment window opened, she remembered Boise State’s Women's Tennis Head Coach Beck Roghaar reaching out early in the process and immediately felt a connection.
Basically from the first day of recruitment until I committed in October, I knew I wanted to come here.Maya Dutta
Safarova’s introduction to tennis also began early, starting at age 5 with guidance from her father. It was a sport he grew up loving and a sport she, her sister, and brother also played. She competed across tournaments in Europe and her talent quickly became evident. By age 14, she had earned a top-seven ranking in her age group in Europe.
When she decided to play in the United States, Safarova moved 5,227 miles from Prague, Czech Republic, to Norman, Oklahoma, beginning her collegiate career at Oklahoma. She found success as the only freshman on the roster and nearly qualified for the NCAA tournament in doubles. However, toward the end of the season, she felt a need for a new environment.
“I felt like it would be better for me to find a different university where I could be sure that they trusted me and also believed in me in singles,” said Safarova.
Though she had offers to many other universities, the current sophomore knew she’d found her new home at Boise State after speaking with Roghaar and making one visit to Idaho.
Once I called Beck, it was immediate. After our call it was my top option, then I visited here and I was so sure that this is my place.Zdena Safarova
The Pairing
To succeed as a doubles team, a duo needs more than just individual skill– it must develop a rhythm, communicate instinctively, and lean into each other’s strengths. For Roghaar, pairing Maya and Zdena was a deliberate choice that he hoped would mesh into a complementary doubles team.
“We kind of felt like right away we knew they would both be skilled enough to go toe-to-toe with the country’s best,” said Roghaar. “A lot of the events now are based off of ratings and rankings, so pairing them together gave us the best opportunity to get them into the big tournaments.”
For Safarova, the opportunity to play with Dutta was part of the reason she committed to Boise State in the first place.
“I saw Maya committed before me, and so she was part of the reason I was coming here. She’s a really good player. She played in Junior Grand Slams, which for me, I had never played in those so I knew she was great,” said Safarova.
Players of any team sport often need time to adjust to new surroundings and teammates, but for these two, their connection on the court was clear from their first practice.
“I remember in our first few sessions and practice matches, it was very quickly apparent that if we execute these things well, this is going to work together. It can happen pretty quickly when the players are that excited to be playing together.”Beck Roghaar
Dutta added, “Our first week that we were playing together in practice was going amazing. We were winning a lot.”
As they continued to work together, they began to learn more about each other's play styles, and how they could rely on one another.
“If I’m going to pick a player for doubles, Maya fits into that,” said Safarova. “She has a great backhand, she holds the rally, she likes to take the deuces, she has a great serve and never misses a drive volley.”
“Z is so calm, ” Dutta explained. “She’s super aggressive at the net. I basically only have to hit like two balls to the back, and then she poaches, and then the point’s done. Z is 100% the best doubles partner I’ve had.”
The Rise
After months of practice, the two were ready to compete in their first collegiate match together at the Boise State Classic. To their disappointment, they fell 8-4 to Idaho. The loss is something that Dutta recalled she would have worried about in the past, but she had complete confidence in their potential.
“We lost our first match together. I thought that maybe I should be worried that we lost because we had All-Americans coming up, but Z is always reassuring me even when we lose. It’s really nice,” said Dutta.
Despite the initial setback, the duo earned a direct entry into the ITA Doubles All-American Championships main draw from their individual rankings, marking what is believed to be the first time a Boise State pair has achieved this feat in school history.
The tournament served as a pivotal stepping stone for Dutta and Safarova’s growth. In their opening match, they faced off against Duke’s 61st-ranked doubles pair, pushing the game to a nail-biting tiebreak but ultimately falling 6-3, 3-6 (8). Undeterred, the duo rallied into their next match, taking on the No. 28-ranked duo from UCLA. Despite their fierce play, Dutta and Safarova bowed out with a 3-6, 3-6 final, showing resilience and their competitive drive against top-ranked opponents.
Following their play in this event, the duo hit the road to represent the Broncos in the first edition of the Mountain West Fall Qualifiers.
The tournament was Dutta and Safarova’s first opportunity to compete against conference opponents, and they performed. The tandem went 4-0, winning all matches in straight sets to clinch the title and a spot in the ITA Conference Masters, one of the premier fall collegiate tennis tournaments.
This win not only boosted the confidence of the Bronco’s top pair, but also the entire team.
When you have players winning at a high level, it sort of shows everybody that we can do that,” said Roghaar. “It’s kind of opened that door for us a little bit to where our confidence is as good as it’s ever been.
Their success didn’t stop there. Dutta and Safarova followed their perfect conference performance with another strong run at the ITA Mountain Region Championships, where they went 3-1, falling just short of the championship match.
Their recent success has continued to motivate them to improve, and they have their sights set on the biggest stage in college tennis, noting that their ultimate goal is making it to the NCAA Championships. Beyond that, they want to etch their names in Boise State women’s tennis history.
“I really want us to build a legacy and a history,” said Safarova. “I’m so proud to help Boise, make an impact, and create a better team.”
For head coach Roghaar, he knows their future is limitless.
If you're asking where's their potential? I mean, they could be one of the top doubles teams in the country without a doubt. We know there's still a lot left to learn for those two, but working off of this foundation is a great starting point.Beck Roghaar
The duo will head to San Diego, California, for the ITA Conference Masters Nov. 7-10, with an NCAA tournament berth on the line. Fans can follow on X (BroncoSportsWTN), Instagram (BoiseStateWTEN), as well as Facebook (Boise State Women’s Tennis) for updates.
