Age no bar for 35-year-old Hyderabadi tennis player ranking at No 54 in AITA with no prior experience

HYDERABAD:  Rekha Boyalapalli, 35, mother of two sons, aged 10 and 8 years, lives in Hyderabad. So what, you may ask? Well, she is a tennis player currently enjoying No 54 in the All India Tennis Association (AITA) rankings. So what, you may ask again! Well, she had never held a racquet till she was all of 32 years! 

Rekha’s tryst with the sport was by chance. Wanting to stay fit after the birth of her two kids, she started gym workouts coupled with aerobics and Zumba. “Like my friends, even I got tired of the regimen over a period of time. We decided to learn a sport instead,” says she. “We enrolled for tennis classes and I just fell in love with the game,” shares Rekha.

After learning the basics in Hyderabad and later in Mumbai, Rekha attended an intensive training camp in Spain and began participating in AITA tournaments from 2017. Bolstered by her performances, she made it to International Tennis Federation (ITF) tournaments in Thailand in November 2018 and Egypt in May 2019. She emerged singles champion in the national ranking tournament conducted by Pradhan Tennis Academy besides being semi-finalist four times in AITA tournaments.

Was it easy to convince her family and coaches about her seriousness for the sport? “No,” says Rekha categorically. “When I first told my coach that I wanted to play tennis professionally, he dissuaded me by citing my age, fitness levels, and stamina,” says she. “My biggest support was my husband, music director Agastya Boyalapalli, who encouraged me to go all the way. But, it was difficult to convince my mother, who said ‘glamour potundi’,” she points out with a twinkle in her eyes.

“Seeing my determination and passion for the sport, they all eventually came around. My kids travel with me and are so proud of me every time I take to the courts.” An Arts graduate from RKLK Degree College, Suryapet, and an MBA from TASMAC University, she has incorporated seven companies. She says confidently: “I want to play the game for as long as I can. It is an expensive sport, and I am pragmatic and understand the need for a back-up plan.”

Sports in rural areas
Rekha started Rekha Sports Foundation in 2017 to help people in rural areas take up sports. Through her foundation, she has been encouraging youngsters by funding and organising games such as kabaddi, cricket, running races and volleyball at Adivemula Village, Nalgonda. “I want to develop an international-level multiple sports academy where the poor can also train under the finest of mentors.” 

Break into the top 10
“I can play on the women’s circuit until I am 40. With my fitness levels and tennis being my passion, my dream is to break into the top 10 in India, before I hang up my racquet,” she says. It is not too ambitious for a player who won a title barely three years into the sport. “I want to develop sports in the country, that is my aim going forward,” adds the gritty Rekha.

— Tamanna S Mehdi  tamanna @newindianexpress.com  @tamannamehdi