YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (WFMJ) - Many of us grow up with dreams of playing professional sports or recording a big studio album. One Youngstown State University grad gets to do both.

Her twin passions are fueling each other, and her time in Youngstown played a big role.

From the time she was eight, more often than not Noelly Nsimba had a tennis racket in her hand.

"It was my dad's passion," said Nsimba. "He fell in love with tennis when he saw Venus and Serena play. He said, my daughter will play this sport."

She also can clearly carry a tune.

"I always love to sing. In my day, I cannot spend a day without singing," said Nsimba.

She graduated from Youngstown State back in 2018 and decided to go after her tennis dream, turning pro.

She quickly realized, there's a lot more she had to think about off the court than she did in college.

"You come here, you have your dorm. You go there, they take you to the tournaments. But then when you're professional, you have to do it on your own. You have to find your sponsors. You have to schedule your bus ticket or your train ticket, where you're going to sleep," said Nsimba.

The expenses add up fast, so she had an idea: maybe she could finance her tennis career by starting her singing career.

"I sent my music to someone and she actually knew a music management in UK. She sent my demo there and they loved my voice. I was like, 'Oh my gosh, so cool'," said Nsimba.

She calls it, "Tennis to Torch."

"Why not do both at the same time?" said Nsimba.

She spent part of last week in Youngstown, recording songs for a Jazz album. She plans to try and schedule concerts to coincide with her pro tennis tournament stops.

Some people might have a little trouble juggling all that, but for Noelly, who speaks three languages and has traveled to 11 countries for tennis, it's a challenge she embraces.

"Everything in life has challenges, and I choose to live that challenge," said Nsimba. "If something makes your blood stir, go for it and keep going at it."

Noelly just happens to have two passions like that, and she's all-in on both.

She lives in Europe now for tennis and is into the third round of auditions for the U.K. version of "The Voice."

If you'd like to follow along with her progress, you can look her up on Instagram @nono_lagrande.