Coming from recent successes at Maharashtra Open, Arjun Kadhe, a rising star in Indian tennis, spills the beans with us on his sport & everything else. 

Your thoughts about the current lockdown imposed, due to Covid19.

What India is doing right now, I fully support it. Other countries are losing control, and I think that with lockdown we can bounce back faster. It has hit the world very bad, and all sports/entertainment engagements are closed resulting in billions of dollars of loss globally.

I was playing in Quarterfinals of ITF Kolkata and suddenly the tournament was called off & then the 2^nd one I was supposed to go to Gurgaon and that got cancelled as well.

Last year at the Pune Challenger.

It was an amazing experience. I was not 100% that whole week, due to long stretch of travels, training etc. I was not able to serve properly but somehow found a way and hung in there. It was one of the last challengers of the year, and I couldn’t give it up. Really happy that in that condition, I could play the finals and we made the most out of nothing. My serves speeds are generally 190-200, but my speeds were much less there but I tried to push it as close as possible. Saketh is always fun playing with.

Arjun in action during Pune Challenger

Maharashtra Open.

I knew I had a chance in Maharashtra Open. I was also lucky that most of the Indians got a chance there. Being a local & lot of people want local boys to do well at such big level. I was very lucky and grateful to the tournament director and team Prashant Sutar and Sunder Iyer who gave me the opportunity.

Rohan was in Australia and we were just chatting. He had nothing in this week, I requested him, and he instantly agreed. Thankful to him, really. Eventually, more and more Indians in the main draw will make things good for Indian players. We are an improving unit, top 3 are excellent and rest 5-6 are pushing themselves harder to close the gap.

Arjun with Rohan, during Maharashtra Open 2020

How do you review 2020 so far?

I had a long preseason in Germany and I was ready to play hard in 2020. I decided to have a big season in 2020. Initially I didn’t plan to play in Tunisia, but it so happened that I ended up playing there. Then travelled to Bengaluru for Bengaluru Challenger, Kazakhstan, Portugal and then to Kolkata. I was feeling good in Kolkata, physically I had no problems at all. Was looking for a blast in Kolkata & then Gurugram later.

Your unique strength in the sport.

One of my strengths has been to stay injury free. Always been a quick learner and the credit goes to my coaches. They always insist on keeping things simple and stick to your game plan. My game style is quite aggressive when it comes to grass, I can hit hard from the back on hard and have done well on clay as well. I have done well around all surfaces. I have a few things up my sleeve and I consistently try to improve on my weapons more and more, learning from others and improvising. I have a long way to go and I’m excited about the future.

Picking partners and your focus in short and long term.

Haven’t thought a great deal on picking doubles partners. I have played with Vijay, as he is a good doubles player. We are comfortable playing together and improve upon things. I love playing with players who want to win, and who are passionate. Picking partners have been tough for me, as I am focusing more on singles now. So, I can get opportunity to play challengers. I need to work hard and close the gap between the rankings as the gap is quite wide today. With Covid19 this doesn’t change much, as it’s a blessing in disguise & I am using this opportunity to stay fit and get little more clarity on the types of tournaments to participate. Once the tournament schedules start, they will be packed as everyone is eager to play.

Spending time during Covid19.

I love cooking, trying to learn as much as I can. Looking at some recipes along with mother. Finding out innovative ways to do workouts. Like I use a wheat bag of 10kgs in my weight training. Atleast on an average, I try to spend around 90-120 mins at the least of workouts everyday. Staying fit is important mentally & physically and I think it’s the right time now to cleanse yourself.

Your Diet at home.

My hunger doesn’t go down even if I am not playing. Ya, really that’s me...!!

I spoke to my coach about it and decided not to go for a very restrictive diet. 1-2 days a week, I give myself some leeway to enjoy the food I like. But right after that, making sure that I burn those additional calories gained and maintain my weight. I keep measuring my weight occasionally and take measures accordingly.

Arjun sweating hard during his workouts

Gudi Padwa, Shrikhand, Puran Poli etc. are very tough to ignore, especially cooked by my mother. It’s kind of tough, but manageable with a good discipline and have been doing that for a long time so its not that tough to avoid the yummy stuff now.

And Your coach & PYC.

Hemant sir is like my father & PYC is like my family, with great facilities. I share a very special relationship with him. He is the best in the industry to coach anyone in tennis. We are a team; we talk together and discuss on the ideas we need to follow & implement. He has a lot of say in what I play & where I play.  We do postmortem after every tournament, identify areas to improve and work rigorously towards improving it. He is the sweetest & relaxed person off the court. It’s lovely to be coached by him. Also the weird thing is we don’t talk much during the tournament, compared to other player.

Arjun with myself & Gaurav Nijohn at PYC

From a team-based sport in College Tennis, to Individual sport of tennis.

At the end of the play, you are playing for yourself in tennis. In College Tennis, you win the match, but still loose as a team. So, mentally there is a big difference, but I think I have grown a lot as a person in College which helps me in Individual tennis as well. Lots of learn from my stint there and it has made me tough.

Your dad has been a great motivation for you.

My dad was a tennis player and was also coaching at Fergusson college. My life has been around tennis since childhood. Tennis has been my favorite toy since childhood days. As I grew older, I got better hang of the sport, started spending more time in courts and wanting to play tennis every single day. Credit goes to him, in pushing me to edge.

Arjun with his dad - Jayant Kadhe

Tell us a bit about your sponsors currently & those who supported you in your juniors & other commercial engagements.

Back in the day when I was a junior, I had great support from Lakshya and MSLTA. I was a part of the MSLTA vision program till 2018. They have been a great support in the early days & I sincerely express my gratitude to them for believing in me in those days. We had a great time & great relationship.

As of now, my family is supporting me a lot & I am spending everything from my own pocket, which is really tough as the expenses are quite a lot.

I’m glad that I’m sponsored currently by Yonex who make the best rackets in the world. They are the best in the business. Great being a part of this collaboration. 

Being a local, hangout & party with friends around?

To be honest, I do have some school & college friends but not many, as not all of them are in Pune now. Some of them are outside studying and we are in touch. I get very less time to hangout or go for movies etc. My routine had always been School, Court, train, Sleep and repeat that every single day. Yeah, no parties as such. Last, I remember doing it was during the college days due to the atmosphere there. I am not actually a party animal and prefer places which are calmer and relaxed. I try and make time to see my girlfriend, whenever I’m in India, during my training breaks.

Cynergymedia wishes Arjun Kadhe a safe health & a great 2020. We thank him for this time & support.

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