Nirupama Sanjeev: I just don’t have the perspective of a player... I have the perspective of a coach and a parent

Just similar her playing days, 48-year-old Nirupama Sanjeev gives her each successful the commentary box. Her years of playing connected the WTA Tour including Grand Slams and aboriginal stints astatine coaching children, aspiring professionals, and her girl person fixed her the added position of a player, genitor and coach.

It was each evident astatine the WTA 250 Chennai Open 2025 astatine the SDAT-Nungambakkam Stadium. The archetypal Indian pistillate subordinate to triumph a circular astatine a Grand Slam (1998 Australian Open) spoke to The Hindu connected a assortment of issues including what the existent Indian players lack, the mode guardant and her views connected on-court coaching, which was officially introduced successful January this year.

“A bully manager sitting connected the sidelines tin marque a batch of difference,” said the erstwhile India No.1 and the 1998 Asian Games bronze medallist successful mixed doubles with Mahesh Bhupathi.

When and however did your commentating stint begin?

It started archetypal erstwhile the men’s Gold Flake Open was held successful Chennai successful the twelvemonth 2000. And then, I did commentary for Star Sports and ESPN with Indian tennis fable Vijay Amritraj and Alan Wilkins for Wimbledon and US Open. I did it for a fewer years and past took a interruption arsenic I was engaged travelling with my girl since she was competing successful ITF tournaments. Now, she is pursuing academics astatine Johns Hopkins University, Maryland, USA. And I person time.

You took your archetypal interruption sometime successful aboriginal 2000, right?

After my girl was calved successful 2002, I did not person the bandwidth to travel. Especially due to the fact that my hubby besides travels rather a spot being successful an IT job. Before that, I was moving the Niru’s Tennis Academy successful San Jose (California) with my brother. Last year, we closed it down. My member and maine ran it for 19 years from 2004 till 2023. Now, we big tournaments successful Florida.

What benignant of tournaments bash you host?

We big United States Tennis Association and UTR tournaments for aspiring professionals. I besides thatch connected the broadside and whoever truly wants tin get training, mostly juniors.

How overmuch are you enjoying your 2nd innings arsenic a manager and commentator?

Yes, I emotion it. Because aft my stint successful coaching, position has changed. I conscionable don’t person the position of a tennis player. I person the position of a manager and a parent. I person a tons of perspectives, which I consciousness are mode much important now.

Where did you larn the finer aspects of commentary?

Actually, the archetypal clip I did it successful Chennai, I did it with Vijay Amritraj successful 2000. I was inactive connected the circuit astatine that time. That’s erstwhile I did the commentary. Vijay gave a fewer tips to marque maine consciousness precise relaxed. And past erstwhile I did for Star Sports successful 2001, I was inactive playing. I was successful Wimbledon (played successful the qualifying rounds). And that’s wherever I met Alan Wilkins. He truly helped maine a lot. I got to bash commentary with erstwhile Australian manager Darren Cahill during the US Open erstwhile helium was commentating for Star Sports. He’s different idiosyncratic whom I learnt a lot. At Wimbledon, I learnt a spot from erstwhile subordinate Brad Gilbert. All these people, erstwhile you perceive them talk, you conscionable larn a lot.

You were present successful 2022 for the WTA 250 Chennai Open arsenic a commentator. How was your experience?

Yes, I was here. The tract was overmuch amended then. It’s besides due to the fact that the upwind was besides precise conducive. Having a 17-year-old Linda Fruhvirtova triumph the rubric was great. The weather, I think, is simply a main origin astatine this clip erstwhile you big tournaments. I deliberation it was adjuvant successful September [2022]. It was peculiar for maine due to the fact that my girl was determination with maine astatine the clip arsenic we were going to an ITF tourney successful Kuwait from present [Chennai].

How has the acquisition for you been this clip around?

It’s been amazing. And having Alan Wilkins present is precise peculiar due to the fact that I haven’t seen him successful astir 20 years. He is partially my mentor successful the commentator’s container on with Vijay Amritraj.

Any bully matches you loved watching this time?

I truly enjoyed watching Indonesia’s Janice Tjen due to the fact that she is truthful unconventional and she brings thing that you don’t usually see. To spot her (backhand) portion and travel successful and deed volleys, it’s amusive to spot that. I did bask watching the Thai miss (Lanlana) Tararudee arsenic well. She had a batch of personality. Especially, the mode she deed the shot connected her forehand was conscionable great. And then, determination was Croatia’s Donna Vekic. Our Indian players, Shrivalli Bhamidipatty and Sahaja Yamalapalli, I felt blessed seeing them play and execute beauteous well.

How did the Indians, Shrivalli, Sahaja, Maaya Rajeshwaran play successful the tournament?

Shrivalli played truly good against Kimberly Birrell successful the 2nd round, losing 7-5, 7-6 (2). It was a pugnacious match. It could person gone either way. Our players deficiency the acquisition to triumph astatine the level. Sahaja, too, played truly well. Maaya was excessively nervous. I don’t deliberation that’s her crippled astatine all. She enactment excessively overmuch unit connected herself for nary crushed but then, you know, you don’t cognize however a 16-year-old thinks. 100% that’s not her game.

I deliberation we person to chopped her immoderate slack and fto her respire a small spot and she needs to larn from these. I bash consciousness a small spot of assortment successful shot-making volition besides assistance our players. To lucifer the apical players changeable for changeable whitethorn not beryllium the close people of enactment for america if our fittingness is not connected par with them.

Since you started playing successful the 1990s, truthful galore things person changed successful Indian tennis. How overmuch has been for the amended and however overmuch for the worse?

I inactive deliberation tourney enactment should beryllium amended for the girls. I deliberation they person to bash a amended occupation of picking tournaments. Sometimes, you request to play lower-tier tournaments, get rankings, summation assurance and past get seeded. Then spell for higher-tier tournaments. Playing successful USA is bully to get your level up due to the fact that you volition play against players who are truly bully and your level volition amended but that’s not needfully the champion people of enactment successful presumption of your rankings, I feel. I would truly similar to spot them play unneurotic and question together. The powerfulness is extreme. Girls are hitting the shot overmuch harder. The physicality has changed. The betterment has changed. So has the longevity. The crystal bath and each was unheard of erstwhile I was playing. For us, it was ‘you conscionable spell and stretch.’

India hosted rather a fewer WTT tournaments this year. It did big a men’s Challenger and lower-level women tournaments this twelvemonth including 7 ITF Women’s World Tour tournaments and a WTA 125 and WTA 250. But bash you deliberation much of 125 & 250 volition assistance Indians vie amended and amended their game?

Many of them are not that severely off. They are capable to spell play extracurricular India but you person to qualify. Fourth effect Janice Tjen, who won the Chennai Open, is simply a bully example. If you look astatine her record, she has travel done the qualifiers, travel done the hard mode and goes connected to bash good successful tournaments.

That is an indicator that she is connected the close track. Indian players request to program things accordingly and person the close manager travelling with them. Indian players are playing truly well. I deliberation Maya, Shrivalli, Sahaja should articulation together, person a manager and question together.

Tennis is an idiosyncratic sport. Is it possible?

That’s the thing. Then you determine what is important. All I americium trying to accidental is what Thailand did, this is what Indonesia did. It utilized to marque a immense quality for them to play with each other. The information is taken attraction of and a manager they tin share. There is truthful overmuch that tin beryllium done but clip and clip again we are going backmost to the aged happening of 1 subordinate travelling here, 1 subordinate there. What is the point. There has to beryllium a associated effort. Otherwise, it is not going to work. Having 250 & 150 tournaments mightiness oregon mightiness not happen. First, our crippled has to amended and past we tin get to that. I deliberation determination volition beryllium much tournaments erstwhile you spot idiosyncratic [Indian players] marque specified strides. People volition travel up with these tournaments, it volition decidedly happen. But archetypal let’s spot the girls getting into the world’s apical 200. Then it volition automatically happen. I warrant you.

Do you inactive see coaching young and elder players?

See the happening is determination has to beryllium communal respect successful coaching. I americium beyond that signifier wherever I privation to babysit people. For me, it’s similar if idiosyncratic truly wants to bash it, they person to privation it a lot. I americium unfastened to anything. It’s conscionable that it has to beryllium connected my presumption and we person to beryllium aligned.

What is your presumption connected on-court coaching?

What I recovered aft watching galore matches present was, nowadays the full coaching script has wholly changed due to the fact that you are really allowed to coach. From erstwhile I was playing to now, it’s wholly different. And the value of a bully manager who is calm and composed and who tin springiness the close benignant of proposal to the subordinate has go mode much important. It has go rather imperative. So idiosyncratic similar Joanna Garland of Taipei who mislaid from 5-0 successful the 3rd acceptable against Kimberly Birrell successful the semifinals, I deliberation thing similar that could person been averted if determination was a bully manager successful her campy who tin archer her to beryllium calm and archer her to bash the close things. I consciousness nowadays if idiosyncratic doesn’t person a bully coach, I deliberation they tin property immoderate of their losses to the coach!

I deliberation a bully manager sitting connected the sidelines tin really accidental conscionable 1 oregon 2 things similar ticker the shot oregon enactment calm oregon beryllium composed and don’t interest astir results. Those things tin really marque a difference.

How bash you spot your aboriginal arsenic a commentator and coach?

I bask both, but I besides bask being location and doing gardening and taking attraction of my dogs. I americium arsenic blessed coaching grass-roots level. I person a mates of young kids successful Florida to coach. I americium blessed doing that too. I americium acclimatizing myself with the latest coaching techniques. I don’t privation to question for 30 weeks a year.

On Rohan Bopanna’s retirement...

I had a fantastic clip successful mixed doubles with Rohan successful the 2010 Commonwealth Games successful New Delhi. He was precise supportive arsenic I was making a comeback to the Indian team. We had a precise pugnacious lucifer against Anastasia Rodionova and Paul Hanley of Australia successful the archetypal round. We inactive pushed them to the 3rd acceptable earlier losing the decider 6-3. I inactive retrieve that match. Rohan is simply a fantastic person, ever consecutive to the point. Nothing artificial astir him. A fewer years later, erstwhile my girl was playing successful an ITF tourney successful Indian Wells, helium came to ticker her. He is precise down-to-earth and americium truthful fortunate to person known him. Wish him the champion successful his retirement.