Maya Rajeshwaran Revathy looks to find her feet on clay at Junior French Open

New Delhi: India has two teenagers honing their skills in Europe at two prestigious tennis academies. There is 18-year-old Manas Damni at the Piatti Tennis Academy, who has built Jannik Siner, among others. At the Rafael Nadal Academy in Mallorca, Spain, 16-year-old Maya Rajeshwaran Revathy hopes to pave her own path to future success.Revathi, who used to enjoy playing on slow hard courts, has begun to embrace clay courts as well. She has already played seven tournaments on red clay this season, reaching the semi-finals twice and clinching the J300 title in Beaulieu-sur-Mer, France.She will continue to put those lessons to the test at the French Junior Open in Paris from May 31.“I think when the physical side improves, I think you will like playing on clay a lot more. In general.

Since I’m based in Europe, I’ve been training on clay a little more than I did earlier in my career. “I think the more I train on a particular surface, the more I feel I belong to that surface,” ITF No. 27 Maya said in a virtual interaction facilitated by the Sports Authority of India (SAI).

“To be honest, I don’t mind playing on any surface. Because as long as I get on the court ready to compete and I’m there to fight, I think I’m happy to play on any surface.

“And the fact that the experience I gained last year from playing multiple tournaments in multiple venues, multiple surfaces, I think it’s just about how you get on the court and play more off the surface.”When she takes to the court in the French capital, it will be her fifth appearance at a major tournament. Her best performance came last year at the US Open, where she reached the second round.These are baby steps before the 16-year-old from Coimbatore takes the giant leap into the adult circuit. However, there remains a delicate balance between exposure and growth. Signs of potential were evident earlier in the year when she reached the semi-finals of the WTA 125 Mumbai Open.

“Our idea at the beginning of the year was for Maya to play as many matches as possible, compete a lot and feel comfortable in her game.

She has a very big game. “So, we want her to develop that more and have that confidence in the matches,” explained coach Polina Radeva, who travels with the Indian girl to participate in the tournaments.“We started with junior tournaments in Australia, and then I did some ITF tournaments in India. Our idea was to stick with the junior tour and see how it goes. Because if you finish well in the junior category, the following year, you get a head start.

You can get some direct entries into professional events. This is our goal. “That’s one of the reasons we do so many small events.”“The ultimate goal is to move to the professional tour,” the player-turned-coach continued. “The life of a tennis player is unpredictable. Sometimes we cancel events and go back to training.”“Focus on what I have to do”

Like Dhamne, Revathi also has a clarity of thought far beyond her years.

She has the likes of fellow teenagers Iva Jovic, Lily Tagger, Alina Korneva and Emerson Jones to look up to in the WTA Top 150 rankings. Instead, the focus remains firmly on herself.“I think we move in a very fast competition environment and right now I’m just focused on what I need to do and what’s going to make me feel better on the court when I’m competing and whatever works for me. I think it just depends on me and knowing how I want to be on the court more than replicating someone else,” she said.