‘It was like a dream come true’, says Rethin Pranav about his Australian Open juniors experience

‘It was like a dream come true’, says Rethin Pranav about his Australian Open juniors experience

Earlier this month, Rethin Pranav (17) had the most significant moment of his teen tennis career. He got to play in the main draw of the Australian Open juniors, an upgrade from playing in last year’s qualifying draw of the US Open juniors.

But a left thumb injury he’d sustained in November played a dampener. Rethin thought he’d sufficiently recovered on time for his milestone event. He had even won the first set 7-5 and was 2-0 up in the second versus the then-junior World No. 9 Oskari Paldanius (Finland) in the first round. But then, his injury hampered his ability to play his backhand, which his opponent exploited to win the match 5-7, 6-4, 6-0.

In a telephonic interview on Friday, Rethin said: “The draw was a bit unlucky. I got to play with the World No. 9 in the first round. It was a tough match. I couldn’t play the backhand because of it [his injury]. He knew that and dominated the third set. The guy I lost to played in the semifinals. So, he was a good opponent. If my hand was fine, I could have won. A bit unlucky.”

Speaking about his collective Grand Slam juniors experience, he said: “I got to witness top players practising next to me. It was like a dream come true! Like, I was practising on one court and the next court, (Novak) Djokovic was practising!”

“The level of tennis was very high. The intensity level was high. It’s the top players in the world and they won’t give up till the last minute. That’s the difference. It is about their winning mentality and ability to handle pressure.”

Last year, Rethin made it to five finals in the ITF junior circuit, winning two titles. But his most memorable title win was his fairytale finish at the men’s Nationals in October.

“It was my dream (winning the Nationals). It is India’s biggest tournament. I lost in the last qualifier. I got in (into the main draw) as a lucky loser. It was an amazing experience to win the final!” he said.

Asked what he thinks he should improve on from last season, he said: “I think my mental toughness, footwork and agility to be faster on the court. Because, when the level is higher, I have to be very fast on the court.”

Speaking about the World Tennis Number (WTN), a measure of a player’s calibre, he said the UTR rating is “more precise.”

Rethin, who said he’ll primarily play in the senior circuit from now, will be moving to the United States for his higher education at the Cornell University in New York.

“I’m going there mostly for my tennis. College tennis (U.S.) has the best infrastructure. They have everything planned. I think they have the best tennis program. I think Cornell conducts five ITF and two Challenger events in a year. I want to become a good player. I want to develop myself. Even in a Grand Slam, around ten players are from college tennis.

“Nishesh [Basavareddy] is also a college tennis player. He’s in a good team. After playing for two years, he took a break (from tennis) and completed his degree. I think college tennis is better because if we take tennis directly and risk it – suppose there is an injury or if you don’t perform well – there will be pressure. We’ll panic without an academic degree,” he said.

For now, he has been sidelined for at least four weeks for complete recovery and will miss the Chennai Open ATP Challenger and the Nationals Games.