Not many have heard about Captain Pavan Murthy, a sprightly 72-year-old with a sharp tennis brain, , loads of knowledge on the game who is also forthright in his opinions.
“Our junior tennis players have an inherent talent to become champions at the international level. What they lack is professional coaching, parental support and a generous backing of administrators and sponsors,” says the veteran coach.
Pavan, with USPTA Master Professional and PTR(USA) Charter Member ratings holds the highest professional coaching credentials in the tennis world. A professional pilot, he worked with the Gulf Aviation in Bahrain for over a decade (1970-80) and was also an outstanding player, who remained an undisputed Bahrain tennis champion for 11 successive years. Sheikh Ahmed, the then ruler of Bahrain was so impressed with Pavan that he asked him to become the National coach of the Bahrain tennis team.
Pavan did that after a formal training at Van Der Meer’s Coaching Center in Virginia, US. It was no mean task, turning a team that was at the bottom of ladder and pushing it up to the Division 3 in Davis Cup and that’s what Pavan did with a set of players.
Pavan returned to India to settle down in Bengaluru after his stint in Bahrain and wanted to fade away quietly. But, M. Krishna Kumar, a USPTR professional coach, from the Kinesis Tennis Academy sought him and impressed with the Kinesis track record, Pavan became the exclusive technical advisor to it.
According to Pavan,“The problem here is that anybody can become a coach. If you know a little something about the game you can start a programme. Even ball boys are coaches here and it is these kind of coaches who spoil the game.”
“Tennis is not all about power and speed. You may be surprised to know that even Novak Djokovic often only taps the ball back and doesn’t always hit hard, as people imagine. The Williams sisters, Serena and Venus, for sure learnt their tennis on public courts but they learnt the right fundamentals,” points out Pavan.
“A coach should be able to pin-point mistakes within a matter of minutes and set about correcting the flaws. Tennis is beautiful game and one cannot succeed with a one dimensional approach,” adds Pavan.
“What we see in India is ‘blind tennis’, where half the guys don’t know where they are going to hit the ball next. The biggest drawback among Indian players is lack of fitness,” says the coach. “How do you expect them to last four or five hours on court, when they struggle to move much after 40 minutes? That’s why most Indians are content playing doubles just covering 25 per cent of the court,” observes Pavan.
He stresses on the role of the parents too.
“Most parents want instant results. Parents need tostop pressuring kids. The moment they are under pressure, their game cracks and it’s over. They should check out coaches, their credentials, training methodology and ability to motivate and inspire.One need not go by big names, not all good players can be great coaches,” advises the coach.
He then signs off by recalling his playing days in Bahrain.
“I was the reigning champion of Bahrain. The British who ran the administration there did not quite like the fact that an Indian was dominating tennis. When I entered the Rothman Cup tournament, they flew in British No.4, Jonathan Smith ‘to teach me a lesson’, who announced he would hang up his racquet if anyone were to beat him. Before a packed audience, I beat him in straight sets in the final. Jonathan was shell-shocked but courteous in defeat. He did not hang up his racquet, but gave his tennis kit to me and I distributed it among my friends.”
