A fascinating journey for a cheerful girl

WHEN SHE turned 24 on December 8, the undisputed queen of Indian tennis, Nirupama Vaidyanathan, could quietly reflect on her career as she nursed a leg injury at her brother's home in New York.

Thousands of kilometres away, the fourth edition of the Asia Cup was played in Delhi, with fanfare because of the inclusion of the women's event for the first time. It was of course disappointing for the hosts as the Indian women's challenge was not that effective in the absence of Nirupama, who has shone brightly ever since she turned a professional in 1994.

It had been a challenging season, on and off the field, as Nirupama started on the wrong note by suffering an ankle injury during the Australian Open qualifying event - by slipping on a backcourt drain - which forced her away from tennis for about three months.

However, before she ended the season with another injury lay- off, caused by an infection on her left foot, that clipped another month of her career, Nirupama had done enough good work to feel confident about the course of her future.

She had bounced back from injury by winning the 10,000 dollar event in Delhi, which was mainly aimed to help her retrieve the competitive edge before the Fed Cup in Osaka. The preparation did pay off, as the team did well as a whole and came arithmetically close to qualification as well.

``Fed Cup was just a great experience. But the bottomline was we lost the actual tie to Japan rather easily in the singles. It goes to show where we need to work'', was the candid remark of Nirupama.

Thereafter, Nirupama has been busying herself in Europe and U.S. She did well to make the semifinals of singles in the 50,000 dollar Mahwah and Lexington Challengers, but the revelation came in doubles as Nirupama won three titles including two at the 50,000 dollar level.

It was particularly satisfying for Nirupama, to strike a successful partnership with Nana Miyagi of Japan, winning the Pittsburg and Hayward events, apart from making the final in Dallas. Coming after the embarrassing experience of not winning a game in the Sydney Olympics in the company of Manisha Malhotra, the year-end effort fortified Nirupama's decision to focus more on doubles. Naturally, she has decided to stick to her new found success for the season ahead.

``I am going to Australia for the whole circuit. I am hoping to play main draw doubles with Nana. So I am looking forward to that. Also I might pay a little more emphasis on doubles in future'', said Nirupama, as she looked forward to jumping back into the professional circuit this month.

It has been a particularly tough season, with all the ups and downs, but Nirupama has been strong in tackling the challenges and fighting her way back to decent figures on the WTA computer.

``Well, this year has been pretty decent as far as the last few months are concerned. Of course, after the Aussie Open I lost three months and didn't expect a whole lot during the European season. But as far as the U.S. circuit, I am glad about how it went. I was about 160 at one point, so it does feel good'', said Nirupama as she summed up the year.

Nirupama pushed her ranking from 221 to 165 in singles and touched 145 in doubles after having been 230.

``It is no pressure when your ranking is at an all time low. So it did feel like it could only go uphill after that'', was Nirupama's brave answer as she discussed about her ranking, which was at its best a couple of seasons ago when she reached as high as 134.

She could have got a few more tournaments, had she opted out of the club commitments in Europe, yet it was a fruitful experience for Nirupama as she struck a nice balance.

``I am happy with the club tournaments situation. It definitely took away a lot of the homesickness one feels in Europe'', said Nirupama. Her newspaper columns from Europe did capture her happy experiences.

Playing tournaments at home has always been a time for family get-together for Nirupama in recent years, and she was disappointed that she could not come for the 25,000 dollar event in Delhi and for that matter the Asia Cup.

``It was very tough to miss the 25,000 dollar event at home. But since I had a good doubles partner and I had to come all the way to India for just one event, I didn't need another long trip. Also, I was in the main draw in most of the events in the U.S. The field for the 25,000 dollar event was much the same as it was in the 10,000 dollar event the week before'', said Nirupama, as she weighed the pros and cons of missing a possible double crown in an international event at home.

Having had to work doubly hard in the international events abroad at the beginning of her career, Nirupama is able to appreciate how good the present lot has got in terms of the numerous international events being held at home. She, however, knows that her own foundation is far too strong, to leave her envious of the present crop.

``Fed Cup was a lot of fun, and one thing I noticed is that all our players just need more matches. I think AITA is doing a fine job in getting more tournaments here. When I started I didn't have this luxury. So, I had to travel abroad a lot. But on the other hand, travelling and playing outside does give you more exposure to different surfaces and environments. So it is important to blend both. I also think Indian girls need to travel together and it is much easier and simpler if they can just employ one coach. They can get a little more organised'', says Nirupama, as she views the healthy situation in Indian women's tennis, and the promise of a brighter future.

The inability to finance a coach to streamline her professional career has been one big hurdle in the progress of the girl from Coimbatore, but Nirupama has been solving the problem to some extent with the support of her brother K. V. Ganesh, who is based in New York.

``The past few months have been okay in terms of finance because of my doubles performances. It is still tough to take a coach but since my brother travelled, I didn't have to pay for extra rooms and so on. He travels with me at times, about once in two weeks. It is a much better situation than last year. I am hoping to have him travel with me more next year'', is the optimistic observation of Nirupama.

It has been a long time for an Indian woman in the professional world, but Nirupama is happy with the way things have happened in her career.

``As far as my lifestyle goes, I don't think I want to change it one bit. My experiences when I lived alone in Luxembourg as an 18-year-old are invaluable. I have learnt and grown so much, which I could have never done if I had not been a tennis professional. Since I was the first to start doing this on a professional basis, everything was new. My parents and I had to discover everything'', said Nirupama, as she signed off.

It has indeed been a fascinating journey for this cheerful girl. Nirupama has the will and the strength of character to make her career a lot more successful in the near future. If the rest of the Indian girls, especially the young ones like Shruti Dhawan, Sonal Phadke, Megha Vakharia and Sania Mirza, pick up Nirupama's lessons and her words of wisdom, their journey in search of success in professional tennis can be a lot more comfortable.

KAMESH SRINIVASAN

New Delhi

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