Global girl

With playing Grand Slams being center court in every serious tennis player’s life, young Kyra Shroff had her dream dates with the world’s major tennis tournaments in 2009. She played in the junior category at the Australian Open in January, the French Open in May and Wimbledon in June. In September she had to withdraw from the qualifying round of the junior US Open due to an unfortunate gluteus injury. "It was so very disappointing, but there was a lot of pain and she just could not play,” says her father Firdaus. "I am absolutely fine now. The injury was not serious and I have resumed playing,” said Kyra, speaking to Par-siana on the phone on her way to the airport to fly from Bombay back to Bangalore where she trains at the renowned Mahesh Bhupathi Tennis Academy.

"The French Open and Wimbledon are barely two weeks apart. The surfaces — clay and grass — are so different and it is interesting to see how players adapt, to see how they practice. I learnt a lot just by watching,” she says. The tournaments are so well organized and the green courts at Wimbledon are beautiful, she adds. Losing in qualifying round one on clay at Roland Garros (the most difficult Grand Slam to get into), Kyra lost in the second qualifying round in junior singles at Wimbledon. While big stage nerves are a factor to reckon with, Indian players do not have much international experience on clay or grass. The lass, who turned 17 on October 17, has been globe-trotting throughout the year, playing a series of graded tournaments in Belgium, Italy, Germany, Egypt, the US and the Far East.

Kyra Shroff (left) with Ekaterina Nikitina

At Prato in Italy in May, she won the doubles in the grade two ITF (International Tennis Federation) tournament with Ekaterina Nikitina of Russia. In July she made it to the quarters in singles and doubles at the Smash International Junior Championships grade two event in Cairo and the semi-finals in doubles at a grade three tournament in the same month. At Roehampton, London, grade one on grass, she reached the round of 32 in singles and doubles in June. At the Australian Open she was part of the Indian junior squad consisting of four boys and two girls, losing in the round of 32 in the singles. In the doubles, Kyra and her Canadian partner Eugenie Bouchard lost to the sixth-seeded pair. Kyra was the only Indian junior girl at Roland Garros and at Wim­bledon. "I think a Parsi girl has played at Wimbledon after a gap of over 50 years. Kyra’s getting there was fantastic, but expectations are always high. She probably could have done a little better, but there was too much traveling and playing too many tournaments. This year we were looking to gain points, so it was a catch 22 situation,” Firdaus analyses. At the US Open, Kyra was one of two Indian junior girls who made the cut.

With one of the major corporate sponsors of tennis pulling out of the program, Firdaus is a worried man. "At this level of competition, expenses are very heavy. I have put in so much money personally over the years. Traveling for tournaments, fees of a good coach, his traveling expenses should he choose to accompany Kyra, other costs...all this adds up to a hefty sum each year which has to be raised,” he says. Kyra’s effort, dedication and systematic training can move forward only if backed by committed sponsors, he adds, appealing for support.

Kyra’s ITF junior ranking is 124 (as of September 30) and had gone up to a high of 80 (combined) in June 2009. Rankings will change in October, says Firdaus, with tournaments in Malaysia, Thailand and South Korea.