Rishab Ramanan
Rishab Ramanan’s confidence in his own abilities, qualities, and judgment enables him to pursue his goals and navigate challenges in his still stuttering tennis career.
“Others would have quit by now, if they were in my shoes,” said the 17-year-old from Bangalore.
Rishab failed to make the main draw of the ITF J30 Phnom Penh at the Morodok Techo National Stadium, after having lost in the first round of the Tep Khunnah Memorial Cup last week.
“I don’t have a title to my name and have not mostly made higher than the first couple of rounds but I believe I can improve and achieve my targets,” said Ramanan.
He was unlucky to have missed the cut to make the main draw after a devastating 1-6, 6-1, 10-12 defeat to China’s Zhang Hao Yi in the final qualifying match.
Despite all the setbacks, Rishab has set himself a five-year target to break into the ATP professional circuit as well as into the Indian national team.
This self believe allows Rishab to take on new challenges, learn from the setbacks, and maintain his motivation to drive forward.
“I have lost more than I have won on the junior circuit. But I am not going to give up that easily, I will push on,” said Rishab, who had reached an Indian national ranking high of 84.
The determined lad, started playing at four, has been playing full-time for the past four years and quit studies three months ago, to pursue his dream in tennis.
His dad Ramanan Moorthy, an IT specialist and mom Rama Venugopal, a professional bharathanatyam dancer, have been supportive of Rishab’s intense desire to make it big in tennis.
“It was my mom who told me about a tennis camp nearby my home when I was still a small boy. I was there two hours before it started, eager to play,” said Rishab, who had dabbled in other sports including cricket and Ultimate Frisbee.
He added that his first ever hit of the tennis ball crashed onto the nets and he started crying.
‘I have always set high standards even at that age,” admitted Rishab, who eventually fell in love with tennis after watching the legendary Roger Federer playing.
Rishab said that watching the telecast of Federer beating Rafael Nadal at the 2017 Australian Open turned out be a huge inspiration for him.
“Initially I believed I was a good player because many people said I had the talent. But after playing in competitions, I realized I was actually bad. It was rough,” admitted Rishab.
That is when the teenager knew he had to level up and he has been steadily improving.
He was enrolled in the High Impact Tennis and trained under coaches Sagar Manjanna and RIbhav Ravi Kiran.
Rishab believes his stamina and strong forehand would help him get better.
“I can play for hours. But, I need to be more disciplined mentally. I do well when I get that correct,” said Rishab, who also admires basketball legend Kobe Bryant.
For now, the lad is focused on his training and hopes the hard work would propel him towards greater heights. He is recognizing small victories, setting and achieving gradual goals to ace his tennis career.
J30 Phnom Penh
Meanwhile, four boys singles players have made it into the main draw of the J30 Phnom Penh after winning their respective final qualifying matches.
Austrian Jonathan Roth, China’s; Zhang Hao Yi, Singapore’s Allen Leong and India’s Mahanthesha Shreyanth will all be in action in the main draw action that starts tomorrow.
China’s Gao Ruochen is the boys top seed with Indonesian Joachim Mika Gunawan the second seed. Joachim, was given the top billing last week, but having lost in the first round, will be looking to redeem himself.
Shin Jaejun, the winner of the Tep Kunnah Memorial on Saturday, is the fourth seed with his doubles partner Bon Hoog Koo, the third seed. The duo has also won the boy’s doubles title on Saturday.
Cambodian Vireak Poev has been awarded a wild card entry to the main draw and will play China’s Chen Junlin in his opening match.
Malaysian lass Daniaa Daneilla Hazli, fresh from her girl’s singles title win on Saturday, has been given the top billing ahead of the player she defeated in the final, Chanya Ng Kai Ning of Singapore.
China’s Zihan Feng and Yang Zijie are the third and fourth seeds respectively.
FINAL QUALIFYING RESULTS
Boys singles: Jonathan Roth (Aut) bt Binh Bao Quan Panh (Vie) 6-2, 6-0; Hao Yi Zhang (Chn) bt Rishab Ramanan (Ind) 6-1, 1-6, 12-10; Allen Leong (Sgp) bt Ruhan Komandur (Ind) 6-4, 6-3; Shreysanth Mahansthesha (Ind) 2-0 retired
