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The most significant aspect of the CTL is the wealth of learning opportunities it provides to youngsters in India who have taken up the sport. One such promising young tennis player is 20-year-old Ramkumar Ramanathan, who’s currently ranked 211th in the world.
Blasting his way through the ranks
The youngster has been gaining steady momentum through successful campaigns in the ATP Challenger and Futures events. But it was at this year’s Chennai Open that Ramanathan tasted his first momentous success.
As far as upsets went, Ramanathan’s win over former Chennai Open finalist and compatriot Somdev Devvarman – who was the top seeded Indian – was a hugely laudable feat. The Chennai native had to go through three tough rounds of qualifying before making it to the first round of the tournament, which not only proved his mettle as a fine competitor, but also spoke a lot about his passion for the sport.
He has all the right ingredients to succeed
That facet was further accentuated in Ramanathan’s battle against Devvarman where, in spite of losing the first set, he didn’t lose heart and bounced back to win the next two sets. He stunned his veteran countryman with a mix of power and verve that has rarely been seen in an Indian teenager.
Tennis may be an expensive sport, but no amount of expenditure incurred can substitute for a player’s passion and commitment. Whether you’re talking about the present greats of the game like Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal or the greats of the past like Pete Sampras and Bjorn Borg, passion has been the driving force behind their successes in the sport.
But passion alone can sometimes fall short. There is one more crucial ingredient for success in any sport: the right guidance and mentoring. And that is exactly what the CTL now seeks to provide in India.
Getting the right advice and guidance – always crucial factors
Ramanathan for his part has been training in Spain at the prestigious Sanchez-Casal Academy at Barcelona since he first received a quarterly scholarship to train there back in 2010. The quality coaching he has received at the Academy has been instrumental in ensuring Ramanathan’s sustained successes in these past few years.
But at the CTL, where Ramanathan is a part of the Bangalore Raptors’ squad, playing alongside the likes of players such as Thomas Enqvist, Feliciano Lopez and Venus Williams would be a totally different educational platform of its own. All these three players are accomplished in their own right, with Enqvist being a former top five player and Lopez and Williams currently ranked inside the top 20.
What they bring to the table is a unique amalgamation of past and contemporary experience. Williams is a seven-time Grand Slam singles champion, and just being around someone like her, watching her from close quarters as she competes on the court, can be hugely instructive.
Enqvist, meanwhile, was a tremendously consistent power baseliner back in the day, and Lopez serves and volleys as well as anyone in the world right now. Technical skills like those can’t be learned from a book, but can easily be assimilated by playing alongside their finest exponents.
Ramanathan has all that to grasp and imbibe while being part of the Raptors’ team, and he couldn’t have asked for anything more at this stage of his career.
The potential is there for everyone to see
Ramanathan is the youngest active player in the first edition of the CTL (the other young Indian players are part of the travelling, non-playing contingent). And there’s a reason why he finds himself in such a unique position: with a good serve and bone-crunching forehand, his potential has been noticed by the people in the know, and he is currently being looked at as a future championship prospect for India.
Ramanathan plays doubles for the Raptors alongside Lopez, and seems to have had an enriching experience in the team’s ties so far. The Indo-Spanish duo’s last match – at Bangalore, against the Hyderabad Aces – went down to the wire, with the visiting team narrowly eking out a win in the end. Ramanathan has taken plenty of initiative in Bangalore’s doubles’ matches, impressively holding his own from the baseline, and his teammate’s encouraging words throughout their matches reinforce as much.
What’s the next realistic goal for Ramanathan?
The Bangalore Raptors may not have performed as well as they were expected to but suffice to say, Ramanathan’s efforts have not gone unnoticed.
The upcoming season will see him armed with a wealth of new experience, which could help him establish himself as a strong contender at all the events in which he participates. He is still very young in a sport that is getting increasingly ‘older’, but judging by the talent he possesses and the confidence he exudes on the court, there may be immediate rewards coming Ramanathan’s way soon.
How about breaking into the top 50 by the end of 2015 as a short-term goal for him? The way we see it, it certainly is possible!
Originally published on the CTL website here.
