CHENNAI: Touted as one of the brightest young players from India, 15-year-old Maaya Rajeshwaran Revathi has been called up to train at the prestigious Rafa Nadal Academy in Spain. Several top players have successfully graduated from the academy and made a mark in the sport.
The Tamil Nadu teenager, who has signed a one-year contract, will begin her stint formally in January. Looking for training opportunities in Europe, Maaya chose the Rafa Nadal Academy.
“We wanted her to train in Europe as it is one of the best places. The offer came directly from the Rafa Nadal Academy. They conducted a screening process for about a week or 10 days. After the screening, they offered her a contract for one year,” Manoj, Maaya’s personal coach and mentor for the past five years, told TOI on Friday.
“Maaya has been assigned a dedicated coach. She will also have a coach who could travel with her for tournaments. Maaya had visited a couple of other academies and in the end, we (her coach and family) decided to take up the offer from Nadal’s academy,” Manoj added.
The past few months have been pretty good for Maaya as she has defeated several top junior players in the ITF circuit. She went on to reach the final of the National Championships after getting through the qualifying stage. The stint at the academy could prove to be a game-changer and will be worth its weight in gold.
“The next couple of years are very crucial for her. She needs to climb the ladder pretty quickly. I think that the focus should be more on doing well at the senior level. She needs to start doing reasonably well in the women’s circuit in another year or year-and-a-half. She has the potential to do well. On the women’s side, I think that she is the next bet for Indian tennis,” said Manoj about Maaya, India No. 2 among juniors.
While Maaya will be training in Spain, Manoj will continue to mentor her from India. “If she travels to or within Asia, maybe I could probably travel with her if that is a requirement,” Manoj said.
Up next for the youngster is three ITF tournaments in India from December to January. “Maaya has opted not to play the junior Australian Open (if she gets into the qualifying draw). She has to get her visa to be in Spain for a year, so that will take a little bit of time.”