Life of a tennis star: Kyra Shroff

Hyderabad-based, Kyra Shroff, 25-year- old tennis player, is been former India number one in singles and number two behind Sania Mirza in doubles in 2013 at a relatively young age of 21. Triumphs, failures, injuries; Kyra shares all it takes to be a tennis player

Describe your life and journey as a Tennis Star.
My journey began when I started accompanying my father daily to the local tennis club at the age of five. I loved and played many different sports in school and wanted to pick football as a career, but my dad was insistent on making me play an individual sport and channelised me into tennis. I left home at the age of 10 and went to live in Bangalore to train at the Mahesh Bhupathi Tennis Academy. I have traveled the world, experienced different cultures, seen the best and the worst of things: from not having a decent bed and toilets in Bangladesh while playing tournaments, to being treated like royalty at the Australian Open, Wimbledon and other Grand Slams.

Tennis is an expensive game. How do you meet your expenses?
Tennis is a very expensive sport, I don’t think my father realised this when he pushed me to start playing. The better you get at tennis, the more expensive it gets. I struggle to make ends meet when I am on tour and never have enough funds to prepare properly and fine tune things when I am practicing, I am like a car trying to run on water. Often, I need to worry about things that an athlete shouldn’t have to worry about. It puts lot of pressure on me to do well in every tournament that I play, because if I don’t win and don’t do well enough, sometimes I cannot go to the next tournament or be able to play enough tournaments to be able to improve my ranking. I also usually travel alone, when I should be traveling with a coach and a physiotherapist; its a big disadvantage and you need to manage everything on your own. It is extremely hard.

How do you deal with game fatigue and losing a game?
Fatigue and tiredness from practice and matches are easy to deal with. What is really tiring when on tour and competing, is the travel. Due to lack of finances most times I’m taking flights with terrible connections and long layovers and I almost never have enough time to recover or manage jet lag before my matches. Its when you have to compete in these situations that it gets very exhausting, I try to manage and recover the best that I can with good food and good supplements, I currently use products from Unived Sports that help me recover and perform to the best of my abilities.

Do you follow a very strict diet?
I wouldn’t call it a diet, its a lifestyle for me, as an athlete what I eat and how much I sleep is a part of my job, so yes, I am not fixated and can adapt to different kinds of foods etc, but I try to eat clean and healthy whenever I can. 90% good - 10% bad.

How do you deal with stress and what are the hobbies that help you relax?
I work very hard with my mind coach - Shree Advani. He helps keep me calm, composed and in the moment. I love hanging out with my friends and family when I’m back home. To relax, I love listening to music, watching TV shows and concerts.

By: Beyniaz Edulji