Indian tennis at a crossroads

Manas Dhamne, a 15-year-old from Satara in Maharashtra, had his dream-come-true moment when he got a wild card entry into the main draw of the TATA Maharashtra Open, a 250 ATP event, this January. The teen lost his first-round match to American Michael Mmoh, a top-100 player in the world, but the experience of playing in an ATP event was immeasurable.

. "Tell me, where else in the world will he get an opportunity like that?" asks former India Davis Cupper Somdev Devvarman, trying hard to mask his frustration at India's only ATP event being scrapped following failed negotiations with the rights holders of the tournament, which is set to move to Hong Kong. With that, India's 27-year-long association with the tournament came to an end, dealing a big setback to Indian tennis and its young crop. The event was first staged in 1996 in Delhi and moved to Chennai, before concluding in Pune.

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. "Personally, I feel it's a bigger loss for the future, the younger generation. I don't feel bad for someone like Sumit Nagal or Ramkumar Ramanathan,” Somdev insists. “They are playing to a packed schedule the whole year and will find another place to play. It's not ideal for them also, but they will still get a lot of opportunities. But for the really young generation and tennis fans, it's a big loss because having that ATP event in India was a huge thing. It was a massive opportunity."

. Tennis is an expensive sport. From playing gear to travelling around the globe, it is a huge investment. And the importance of having an event of this magnitude in one’s own country can't be exaggerated. It's not that Indians have made optimum use of the opportunity, hardly progressing beyond the second round in the last five years. But exposure to quality tennis and the experience of playing in an ATP event go a long way in the progress of a player.

. "Honestly, it's a real pity... That's my first reaction because it started in Delhi in 1996 and then moved to Chennai and then Pune... So obviously, it's been an important part of me since 1997, when I used to go for it as a 12-year-old," recalls Somdev.

. "(I took part in) pretty much every edition till I moved to the USA in 2004. And when I came back, it was in Chennai and I had an opportunity to stay there, do well and make a run. So, it was an emotional event for me for many reasons but, more importantly, it was also a great foundation. Since 12, I remember me, my friends and coaches sitting there, even at outside courts, and watching games of top internationals. Try and replicate whatever we learnt the next day on the court.

. "It was a treat to watch these games up close. Then the tournament moved to Pune and we all knew it was up for renegotiation. We all thought it would be either Chennai or Pune but unfortunately... What can I say? It sucks, honestly!"

. Somdev's sarcasm wasn't lost when he said people should stop blaming the All India Tennis Association (AITA) for the country losing the tournament.

. "The first natural reaction would be to point a finger at AITA, and everybody has been doing that," points out Somdev. "But I don't think that's fair because, if I am being completely honest, I don't think they did a whole lot to have the event in India in the first place. It was TNTA (Tamil Nadu Tennis Association) and then MSLTA (Maharashtra State Lawn Tennis Association) that were fighting hard to keep the tournament in India. Sure, they (AITA) will take credit when things go well but will throw their arms up in the air when things aren't going well. Obviously, it doesn't help that they have their own internal conflicts going on right now but at some point, you would hope they are actually the ones who are fighting to have more tournaments."

. Strangely, Indian tennis had a lot going its way when the infrastructure wasn't great and the popularity of the game was restricted to a few big cities in the country. After the Krishnan clan and the Amritraj siblings put Indian tennis on the world map, the Leander Paes-Mahesh Bhupathi pair, Sania Mirza, Somdev and Rohan Bopanna kept the boat afloat. That boat is sinking now, with a non-existent talent pool and an administration that lacks intent and foresight.

. "We are very far behind in terms of development of players," emphasises Somdev. "Efforts have gone into building infrastructure but that's not enough. You need to have a programme and the knowhow to run it efficiently. You can't say there was better infrastructure when there were more quality players. Even if you look at Sania, myself and Rohan, it wasn't that we came up because there was better infrastructure but because we were better tennis players. If you go back in time and put Leander and Mahesh in the mix, we did our own things to develop, we didn't rely on AITA. I don't think they have done a whole lot of things to focus on development and unfortunately, you can see that with the kind of players we have now.

. "But I am optimistic about Indian tennis; there is decent talent out there. Whenever I go and watch these U-12 tournaments, I see a lot of talent but once they reach the U-14 or U-15 stage, the level dips. We need to have a different level of coaching. We have to keep updating ourselves on what's happening globally... If you can take a leaf out of China's book, I mean, they have three men's players in the top 100. They have really upped their game. Likewise, Korea and Japan. We (in men's tennis) were the best in Asia and all of that has gone to waste. It's sad we couldn't build on that base."

. And that's where the problem lies. You can't have a situation where good players are coming through despite the system and not because of it. It's unsustainable.

Indian tennis at a crossroads

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