The lockdown has united tennis players and Ramkumar Ramanathan is thrilled that the core workout sessions that he started on March 30 has expanded to about 70, attracting the cream of Indian tennis.
“We are all connected on Zoom, every day by 5 p.m., and do the exercise for an hour. Each day we have a captain and new exercises are suggested and tried. Rohan Bopanna, Sania Mirza, Arjun Kadhe, Yuki Bhambri, Purav Raja, Vishnu Vardhan, Mahak Jain, Sathwika Sama and a lot of juniors have joined and many of them are regulars. The energy level is fantastic,” said Ramkumar.
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It is not just exercise, but there is a lot of healthy interaction, which helps the youngsters to learn a lot. The group also made it a point to put together individual birthday wishes for Denis Shapovalov and sent it across to him through Bopanna, his doubles partner on the Tour.
“Shapovalov joined us and we had a 20-minute fun session with him. He answered all the questions and inspired the players,” said Ramkumar, who does his exercise on the terrace.
He is clear about the basics for development.
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“Your struggles help you win. Have patience, train hard, enjoy it. Don’t stop believing. Be kind to everyone. And surround yourself with a circle of good friends,” he explained his philosophy.
Ramkumar expressed gratitude to coach T. Chandrasekaran for the guidance over the years. Revealing his technique of dealing with the big points, Ramkumar said, “Focus on the present. Negative thoughts come only when you start thinking about the outcome.”
Like everyone, Ramkumar is waiting to get back to the circuit as a better person and player.