Pune: Vaishnavi Adkar says some deep introspection combined with hunger and determination to prove herself powered her to successive finals, one resulting in her first ITF W35 title, and help break into the Indian team for the Billie Jean King Cup.“Coming into this year, I wasn’t really thinking much about the results because last year was pretty tough and (didn’t) get the results that I wanted. I was starting to question some of the things. So coming into this year, one of my biggest goals was to enjoy being on court and just letting myself feel that joy again,” said Adkar, who reached the final of a W100 event in Bengaluru last month and then captured a double at the W35 event in Kalaburagi last week.“I am someone who likes the competitiveness the sport has to give and even the struggles. Especially in Bangalore, except the first round, all the matches were against higher ranked opponents. So I knew that this was my chance to try and prove myself, to other people, that I am capable of doing good things and beating players ranked way higher than me,” she added.The key to her turnaround was her decision to move her base to Bengaluru to train at the Rohan Bopanna Tennis Academy at the start of the season.“Since I started taking tennis seriously, I have been okay with doing whatever it takes as long as it improves my game,” she said.“Moving (to Bangalore) was a big decision for me. I live in a joint family, it was a tough decision for every one of us. But I knew this was necessary, because at this point in my career, I just needed some change, especially in the perspective of the inputs that I was getting.“So, coming to Bangalore, getting those inputs and the insights from someone with Rohan’s experience, he can understand what a player goes through. And even Balu sir (coach M Balachandran), who’s travelled for tournaments of the highest level. So this is really helpful that way.”As a result of the brilliant run at the KSLTA stadium, the 21-year-old jumped 224 spots to become the second highest-ranked Indian at 466, which earned her a spot in the squad for the Billie Jean King Cup Asia-Oceania zonal tie, to be played in Delhi in April.The Pune-born girl said that was indeed one of her goals for the season.“I knew that this was sort of my last chance (to) make it to the team. And I didn’t want to just get in as a reserve, I wanted to be one of the main players of the team,” she said.“Being able to finally do it, really feels good. It just helps me more with the self-belief that I can do good things, I am getting better day by day, and good things will happen if I keep putting in the work.”Following the Kalaburagi success, where she won the doubles title with Ankita Raina and then beat her for the singles crown, Vaishnavi has reached a career-high 396 in world rankings.Balachandran put her effort in context.“You just played a tournament where you played everybody higher up, beat players (ranked) in (top) 150 and 200. So after that, your expectations, and others’ expectations, are naturally higher. A lot of players don’t handle that pressure well,” said Balachandran.“And conditions were totally different. Bangalore (surface) was bouncy and faster, it suits her game. Kalaburagi was slower. Balls were heavier, and (playing in) hotter conditions.“So she had to basically rally and grind, make adaptations. And she won singles and doubles, so every day two matches in that heat.“Great, not easy, not at all easy.”Vaishnavi added: “It was quite tough. But I had my physio Isha (Galgali) there, she really helped me a lot. We focused a lot on recovery and hydration, because it was really vital for me to be able to last the week.“Just a lot of important things that we have been working on in the academy. So that is something that really helped me to do better these two weeks.”For Balachandran, while the higher field in Bengaluru brought out Vaishnavi’s talent, the Kalaburagi double underscored her mettle.“Mentally tough, otherwise this can’t happen,” he said. “The fact that she’s won this tournament shows that she can suffer and win matches.“If you look at the quality of what she played in Bangalore versus this, obviously not the same. But conditions were different, not suitable (for her game), but you are willing to grind and somehow get it across the line all days, not just one day.”The rapid climb in rankings means Vaishnavi has been forced to rejig her schedule for the coming weeks. So, while she will skip the two $15K events in India, her entry in higher events in China will depend on the visa process.“Short term (goal) will be to break into the top-300. Once she moves into 300 then we know she’ll get into at least qualies of W100,” Balachandran said.Following the BJK Cup, the plan is to compete in tournaments in the UK. There will also be an attempt to play on clay in Europe.Her India No. 2 rank also means Vaishnavi is in line to be picked for the Asian Games later this year. The coach believed his student had the maturity to handle the responsibility of representing the country and, more importantly, stay focussed on the overall goal.“I’m sure she will handle it well, because she’s already played in the World Youth Games where she won the bronze medal. We are looking at (higher) WTA ranking as the primary goal and to get into a level where you’re playing the Slams qualies and the bigger events. India No. 1 or No. 2 is a by-product of the first goal,” Balachandran said.Vaishnavi herself wants to keep it simple.“I don’t want to put unnecessary pressure on myself. As I said earlier, the goal is to enjoy what I’m doing, and it’s been working out quite well.”
