A state tennis player for Melaka since 2011, Russell Roshan first picked up a tennis racquet when he was six.
“My dad talked to some coaches and signed me up for my first lesson without me even knowing it,” he recalled with a laugh.
In the beginning, Russell was not fond of the sport but his interest grew after he emerged as the runner-up for a tournament he joined on a whim when he was eight.
“So, I thought to myself, why not take it seriously?” he said.
To date, the 19-year-old has played in numerous tournaments. For him, his biggest achievement was recently being selected to represent the Melaka team at the 2020 Malaysia Games (Sukma).
“When I found out about it, I was stoked because it has always been a dream of mine to be part of the Sukma team.”
To prepare himself for the Games, Russell is undergoing a strenuous training regimen that sees him sparring with his partners five to six times per week, with each session lasting four hours. Some may assume that these training sessions only entail serving balls and perfecting techniques, but that is not the case for competitive tennis players like Russell.
“We have to do other physical training like footwork drills, push-ups, sit-ups, jumping left and right, skipping, and workouts involving lifting weights and medicine balls,” he shared.
On who he looks up to for inspiration, Russell revealed that he has “always been a die-hard fan of Rafael Nadal”, adding that he strives to emulate Nadal’s grit on the court.
“He plays each point like his life depends on it. I’ve tried imitating Nadal’s game by chasing each ball and maintaining it in play,” he said.
Aussie tennis player Nicholas Kyrgiosis another athlete whom Russell keeps an eye out for.
“He inspired me to mix my style of play by attempting random trick shots that catch my opponents off guard,” he said.
With 13 years of tennis-playing experience under his belt, Russell has gained much exposure to different tennis grips.
“The gripping styles affect the shots. When I take part in tournaments, I get exposure to different kinds of shots, making my game better,” he explained.
Nonetheless, great players have their fair share of bad days. Russell admitted that he tends to take his losses quite personally because of all the hours and training he puts in, even more so when his opponents display very poor sportsmanship.
However, Russell is not one to let setbacks get the better of him as he often bounces back quickly. He treats his mistakes and weaknesses as lessons for him to improve his future performance. Reflecting on his earlier days, Russell shared that he would tell his younger self to train harder, not give up and to compete in more tournaments to gain exposure.
Moving forward, the Inti International University Nilai, Negri Sembilan, student hopes to represent his university in more tournaments and sees himself taking up a coaching role in future.
For those who are looking to pick up tennis as a casual sport, he had this to say: “Watch more tennis games and have a positive attitude because the first day on the court will not be easy.” He emphasised that what is crucial is that one has to love the game to excel at it.
Note: This article was written and published in The Star's NIE pullout on 2 October 2019.
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