Sammy Speaks : Episode 1 – Stay Indoors, Train Indoors | Tennis Player Sathwika Sama

“Sammy Speaks” is a 7 part blog series with South Asian Games Gold Medalist – Sathwika Sama. Over the course of the next seven weeks, Sathwika will share details of her journey/experiences in the international tennis circuit

Indoor Tennis Centre in our Hindustan –

Today, I am going to try and express my opinion on how necessary it is to have an indoor tennis facility in India. Over the next few weeks, I write to all of you as a current WTA World Ranked Player and a South Asian Games Gold Medalist. Most importantly though, I write as an Indian who wishes nothing but success for our great country (so please excuse my writing skills).

We all know that India lies close to the equator. We are born in one of the hottest countries on planet Earth with the most amount of rainfall. With the rainfall and the excessive heat, most of us struggle to play for more than a couple hours a day for the majority of the year. In such a scenario, it becomes imperative to have an alternate arrangement such as an indoor training facility.

The peak summer months are between March and May and the monsoon hits most parts of India between June and September. These are 7 months of extreme weather and hence, I believe it is unfair to even try to compare the Indian WTA players to the rest of the world. In a literal sense of the word, if we have a bad summer and an equally bad monsoon, we could be playing for half the amount of time as compared to our European or American counterparts. The conditions we end up playing in make it impossible to train at peak capacity due to the sweltering heat, not to mention the fact that when it rains in most parts of India, it truly is a downpour.

The last point I would like to make is that of the feel and pleasure of playing indoors. As a tennis player, I would like to explain to all of you that when we play in great conditions in an adequate environment, our love for the game rises to new levels. I have been fortunate enough to witness this first hand, having played at indoor centres around the world. My tennis improves overnight and I suddenly am able to train harder and better for longer periods. What is the point of all this, you may ask … Ladies and Gentlemen, the answer is very simple. The sweeter we hit the ball, and the better we feel while training, gives us a higher probability of winning a medal for our shared passion – INDIA.

Finally, in my twenty-first year of existence on this Planet Earth, India is financially in a strong position to invest in the future. I think that this would be a major step towards infrastructure development. In my limited experience of life, I unfortunately have a lot of unfulfilled wishes and I fear that this indoor centre in India might just be another one.

Keep smiling as the sun will shine tomorrow ?

Have a safe weekend!

Best wishes,

Sathwika Sama

This article was originally published on Indian Tennis Daily

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