Pursuing her passion

The training at The Nike-Bhupathi Tennis Village in Bangalore is tough, but 10-year-old Kyra Shroff says she thoroughly enjoys it. Kyra "is a very talented young girl and is very hard working in her daily routine... if she is nurtured for a longer time and remains under our care for at least another year up to end 2004... she will have progressed to a higher level,” writes Krishna Bhupathi, father of India’s tennis ace Mahesh, commending his young student who moved to his Academy from Bombay in January 2003.

"Kyra is very friendly and has adapted to this new life of hers in Bangalore, away from her home and family very well and this itself is an indication of the determination and goal the little girl has focussed towards in her life,” continues Krishna. "We are proud to inform you that she has improved drastically and this has enabled her to win three consecutive state ranking under-12 tournaments back to back in Bangalore. She has even reached the quarter-finals of the under-14 A.I.T.A. (All India Tennis Association) tournament and this alone is testimony to the fact that this young girl has potential...”

Providing Kyra a timely window of opportunity to grow and glow in her tennis career are her parents Firdaus and Gulshan. "Living and training at The Tennis Village is expensive, costing around Rs 25,000 per month,” says Firdaus. Determined to shoulder what is no doubt a strain on family finances while simultaneously looking for sponsors, Firdaus believes that quality exposure and a sound work ethic at an early age will lead to success in a sport which combines talent and temperament, consistency and calculation, art and craft. "Among the boarders at The Village, Kyra is the youngest,” says Gulshan. "While many of the local trainees opt for only one training session each day usually in the evenings, Kyra takes both the morning and evening sessions, which works out to almost five-and-a-half to six hours of tennis per day!” "The coaching here is so very different from what I had in Bombay,” Kyra said to Parsiana. "We are up at six in the morning and at the court by seven for around two-and-a-half hours of tennis, followed by breakfast, bath, studies (with a private tutor) and lunch. After a short rest, it is back to the tennis courts from 2.30-5.30 p.m. Dinner at 7.30 and bed by 8.30 completes the regimen. "The first one or two weeks were a little difficult but now I’m used to it,” remarks the gutsy girl who has willingly detached herself from parents and siblings, six-year-old Porus and four-year-old Maya as well as all her friends at Bombay’s St Anne’s High School, Fort, to relocate to Bangalore to avail of superior training facilities.

The Shroff family, from left: Gulshan, Maya, Kyra, Firdaus, Porus; Kyra on court (center) and with tennis ace Mahesh Bhupathi

"I like the game (of tennis) itself, the strokes, the competition. My forehand is good, the forehand volley is my favorite stroke, my backhand needs strengthening,” the pre-teen assesses herself with maturity. With a total of 15 courts, fitness at the gym and on court is emphasized in an international game where muscle and mobility, skids, slides, lunges and power play spell success today.

Describing Kyra’s win over Karam-jeet Kaur in the girls’ under-12 singles final at the Century Club — The Wearhouse tournament (a state ranking event), The Hindu of May 31, 2003 reports from Bangalore: "What was notable about this young girl’s game was her ability to hit the ball square and clean and to stick around the baseline... hitting some solid winners on the forehand, making some neat returns on the run. The serve, of course, didn’t have that bite, but she was consistent enough.” Kyra was also the under-12 winner at the Embassy Tennis Tournament 2003, held at Bangalore’s Sadashivanagar Club, which is also a state ranking competition. In the Kim’s Tennis Academy — Chandrika state ranking tournament in June, Kyra won the under-12 title, reaching the quarters in the higher age group (under-14) as well, according to her bio data.

Kyra’s name had been recommended earlier for a summer course at Florida’s famous Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy which has produced many a World Number 1 and Grand Slam champion, but prohibitive costs prevented her going, states her father. International tennis coach Tahir Ali, who along with his son Intikhab, trained Kyra while she was in Bombay describes her as "my most promising and upcoming student and tennis player. She is very talented and hard working. Since tennis is an expensive game, I would like corporate sponsors to come forward to help encourage this talented child.”

Kyra: building her credentials

Starting to build her credentials at age eight, Kyra was ranked as high as No 3 in Maharashtra in the under-10 category. As a MSLTA (Maharashtra State Lawn Tennis Association) registered player, she was selected for the Hero Honda MSLTA Masters 2001 in girls under-10 and reached the finals at the Wodehouse Gymkhana Junior Maharashtra State Ranking Tennis Tournament in her category. In 2002, though only nine-and-a-half, she competed in the under-12 reaching a ranking of No 5, as per her statistical details.

An all-round sportsperson, Kyra has represented her school not only in tennis but in karate, athletics, football and throwball, winning medals and certificates along the way, writes Sister Martina, headmistress of St Anne’s High School in her letter of April 2002, commending Kyra’s academic and athletic abilities which prompted the School to grant her leave of absence to further her tennis talents. Faring well also at All Parsees Annual Athletic Meets, Kyra picked up the girls under-10 individual championship, breaking the existing record in the 80 m run as well, at its XXII Meet. Sporting genes run in the family, with Gulshan having represented her school/college in athletics and Firdaus having played semi professional cricket in the UK for six years. Firdaus was also a Maharashtra state level junior badminton champion.

Starting professional training at a very young age in tennis is not just an advantage but a necessity, believe the Shroffs, anxious to obtain sponsorships for Kyra to pursue her passion and break into the big league. With Indians having fared exceptionally well this June at what is probably the world’s favorite tennis event, Wimbledon [Leander Paes and 46-year-old Martina Navratilova (of USA) lifted the mixed doubles trophy, 16-year-old Sania Mirza won the girls doubles with Alisa Kleybanova (of Russia), while Mahesh Bhupathi and Max Mirnyi (of Russia) lost out in the men’s doubles final], there are examples to emulate. On the feminine front, Mirza’s feat was all the more praiseworthy as, according to The Sportstar of July 19, 2003, "the last woman to play in a Wimbledon final from India was Rita Davar who lost the girls singles final in 1952.”