Raj Anne - Tennis is a sport where we need to be mentally strong

We caught up with Raj from TennisTampaBay.com and here's his story.

Which league are you a member of? 

TampaBayTennis 

 How long have you participated in your league?

From June 2021

How did you first learn about it?

Got to know about this league from a friend (Sandeep Kolluri)

How often do you play?

2-3 times a week

What do you like most about the league?

Flexibility in scheduling, court selections, incentives, meet and learn from new players

Tell us about your most memorable match(es) –

Match played with Greg H in Sep 2021, it went ~3 hours, have enjoyed it fully. We know each other's game so well that our rallies and games are long. We became good friends and discussed a lot of other things.

During recent doubles finals in a different league, we were 0-4 but came back strongly to make it 6-4 and set two with 6-1 [won 11 games in a row] – This was possible only by being mentally strong and never give up attitude

Who are your favorite rivals in the league? Why?

None so far, yet to find one

Do you have any other interesting comments about your experiences with the league?

I Love the way it is organized, like the various kinds of incentives, Friendly admin, Flexible and Competitive - it's all in one Package.

Love the mobile app – it's super friendly ! The web site is also very easy to navigate and has all details like courts, player profiles, complete stats, rules, pics and a lot.

How did you get started playing tennis?

Informal games with colleagues/Friends

Do you play to compete, or for fun?

Started with fun but now liking competing

What level player are you? (NTRP rating)

We currently have Raj at 3.5. 

What do you love about tennis?  

It feels like I miss a lot if I don’t play tennis at least twice in a week, I get a sense of satisfaction.

Meeting interesting people in different professions from many different places and making new friends, learning from their experience and discussing various other topics.

Tennis is a sport where we need to be mentally strong, we can run for 2-3 hours all over the court but if we are not mentally strong and if no proper strategies, we will end up on the other side of the fence. During recent doubles finals in a different league, we were 0-4 but came back strongly to make it 6-4 and set two with 6-1 [won 11 games in a row] – This was possible only by being mentally strong and never give up attitude

Who are your favorite pro players? Why?

Rafael Nadal, like his game, attitude and consistency

Tell us a little bit about yourself, for example: What do you do? Where did you grow up? What are your hobbies (besides tennis)? (Feel free to share any interesting details about your life.)

I am an IT program manager by profession. I grew up in a small town in India and never played tennis during my childhood/school/college days – started a few years back for fun and slowly developed love towards tennis and it feels like I miss a lot if I don’t play tennis at least twice in a week.

My other hobbies/activities: running (I have done 4 half marathons so far), I also play Volleyball and Pickleball but Tennis is my favorite sport.

Love spending time with family and friends

 

James Pudner - How you play 106 matches and counting in a year and a half.

We checked in with James Pudner out of the Jacksonville league.  He's already played 106 matches in 16 months. That's amazing.

Which league are you a member of?

JacksonvilleTennis League

 

How long have you participated in your league? ​

June 2020.

How did you first learn about it? ​

Google

 

How often do you play?  ​

When I'm not fighting some little joint tweak, I try 3x per week. 

 

What do you like most about the league? 

The flexibility. When I have a slow week I can play 5 times, if I'm out of town I cannot play for 2 weeks. 

 

Tell us about your most memorable match(es) 

Two matches stand out, against Ingan and Ziki. Both matches went 6-7 / 7-6 and very competitive 3rd set tiebreaker. Against Ziki no one broke serve until the last 2 games of the 2nd set. Extremely competitive and high quality tennis (for my level). 

 

Who are your favorite rivals in the league? Why?  

I really have enjoyed everyone I play, but I really like people who can push me and force me to be aggressive. Ingan and Ziki both come to mind, but there are many more. 

 

Do you have any other interesting comments about your experiences with the league? 

When I finished college I thought my competitive sporting days were over. I was ecstatic when I learned about the local adult soccer and basketball leagues, but nothing has compared to the tennis league. I just love the flexibility, frequency of play, the people and the exercise.

 

How did you get started playing tennis? 

When I was in middle school I started playing on the neighborhood team. I played through HS and then stopped for 15 years until COVID cancelled all my other sports. From my first match I instantly fell back in love with the sport and its now the primary one I play.

 

Do you play to compete, or for fun? 

Both. I'm internally a competitive person so I try very hard to improve and win, but ultimately I'm out here for fun and exercise. You won't catch me arguing any calls I disagree with or using gamesmanship. I want people to enjoy playing me as much as I enjoy playing them.

 

What level player are you? (NTRP rating) 

I'd call myself a "weak 4.0"

 

Who are your favorite pro players? Why?

Musetti, Federer, Thiem and Dimitrov. I love all anyone (except Tsitsipas) with a good one-handed backhand. 

 

Tell us a little bit about yourself:

I grew up all over, but went to Auburn University and have lived in Florida working as a CPA since finishing my Masters. I enjoy all sports but am best at soccer and tennis. I have 3 awesome kids (2, 4 and 6) and an even better wife who lets me abandon her to play sports several nights each week.