The Glorious Journey of Nirupama Sanjeev

Nirupama Sanjeev is a well known Indian name in the history of tennis. Nirupama, who was born on 8 December 1976 in the Southern Indian town of Coimbatore, is a retired Indian professional tennis player. She was the first woman tennis player from India. She began to play tennis at a tender of 5 and derived inspiration from her brother. Her father, K.S. Vaidyanathan, acted as her first coach at the start of her career.

At the age of 13, she won her first National title in under 14 age group. In 1991, at the age of 14, she won the National Women's title. Nirupama also won the National Women's title in 1992–1996. She stepped into professional tennis at the age of 18. Nirupama was then coached by David O Meara. In 1998, she became the first Indian woman in the modern era to feature and win a round at a main draw Grand Slam, in the Australian Open. At the 1998 Bangkok Asian Games, she also backed a bronze medal in mixed doubles. She took retirement from the wonderful game of tennis in later 2000’s. In 2010, she made her comeback as a 33 year old and played for India in the Commonwealth Games 2010 and in Asian games in Guangzhou. Post retirement, she has been a part of the expert commentary team for ESPN-STAR sports. In the Bay Area, California, she also runs a tennis coaching camp.

By: Anuja Arora

Content: en.wikipedia.org