Tennis is a game which I did not play. I did try my hand at my father’s tennis racquet but it felt heavy compared to the table-tennis and badminton racquets. My father suffered from a tennis elbow.
I read about our Indian greats and international greats in tennis-Rod Laver, Natekar, Ramanathan Krishnan, Vijay and Anand Amritraj and Billy Jean King, John McEnroe and others.
The Davis Cup and Wimbledon were the tournaments which aroused interest in the house as my scientist father used to take interest in tennis too.
Later my young son developed interest in tennis coaching when he was just five years old but found the coaching too strenuous which he was willing to undergo but was withdrawn as he complained that he was not allowed to play the game and the coaching only took them on walking and running rounds and just repeating one motion with the tennis racquet again and again without contact with the ball.
But I think that that was necessary to build stamina and the right technique to enable them to play correctly. I would like Sania Mirza, Leander Paes, Bhupathi and others in the international coaching arena to comment on the correct methods of coaching of younguns ‘catchem young’.
Yes, I must admit that I developed interest in watching tennis with my son.
I remember one incident. Once Steffi Graf and Monica Seles were playing. My son said ‘I take Monica Sale’s said ‘I choose Steffi Graf’ and my wife who had just entered said indignantly but with a touch of innocence ‘How could you choose Steffi Graf when you had chosen me first. And we all burst out laughing.
I do watch a few Wimbledon or other grand slam matches on TV and nowadays feel some pride that Indian boys and girls are doing quite well at the top level of the game.
They have to be helped to remain at the top and more should come in at that level.