Maaya to mix junior and Pro events for smooth transition

India's bright teenage tennis prospect Maaya Rajeshwaran Revathy is carefully balancing junior and professional tournaments this season as she prepares for a gradual transition to the senior circuit.

The 16-year-old, who will soon compete at the junior French Open, has largely featured on the junior circuit this year, a move her coaching team says is aimed at building confidence, gaining match exposure and securing a strong junior ranking before taking a bigger leap into professional events.

Maaya, who trains full-time in Spain at Rafa Nadal Academy, said the exposure to a more competitive environment in Europe has accelerated her development.

''At a certain level, it's more about how you compete. In Europe, you are competing every day with equal players and that gives you a lot of experience,'' Maaya said during a virtual media interaction facilitated by SAI.

She won a J300 event in France on clay in April apart from finishing semifinalist at a couple of events in Spain and Egypt.

''For us every week is an opportunity for improvement. That's been the objective since the start of the year, to just keep getting better, get more matches and feel more comfortable on the tour.''.

Maaya is supported through Target Asian Games Group (TAGG) scheme of the government and has received a sum of Rs 51 lakh.

Paulina, her coach at the academy, said their idea at the start of the year was for Maaya to play as many matches as possible and get comfortable with her game ''because she has a very big game''.

''We started with the juniors in Australia and then a couple of pro events in India. The idea was to stick with the junior tour because if you finish with a good junior ranking, it gives you a head start into the pro circuit with direct entries into tournaments,'' said Paulina.

The long-term objective, according to the coach, is for Maaya to play predominantly professional events next season while continuing to feature in junior Grand Slams during the transition phase.

''We want to mix both events. Ideally, next year she can play mostly pro events,'' Paulina said, while stressing that the schedule is being planned on a week-to-week basis depending on form, fitness and match workload.

''The life of a tennis player is such that you cannot plan months ahead exactly. Sometimes we cancel events and go back to training depending on how she is feeling with her game.''.

Asked whether training in Spain had made her more of a clay-court player, Maaya said familiarity with the surface naturally builds comfort.

''The more that I train on a certain surface, the more I feel belonged to that surface. The more matches I play on it, the more comfortable I feel. But honestly, I''m happy to play on any surface as long as I step on court ready to compete,'' she said.

The teenager credited both her former coach in India and the professional ecosystem at the Rafa Nadal Academy for helping shape her growth.

''The environment is very professional. You have a lot of professional athletes around you and you learn from them every day. That's probably the biggest difference I've felt,'' she said.

Maaya also said her primary focus remains on personal improvement rather than comparisons with other young players making waves on the circuit.

''In tennis, things move very fast, so I don't think you have time to stop and see how other players are doing. At the moment, I'm focused on what works for me and what helps me compete better,'' she said.

Her coach revealed that one of the key developmental goals has been to add more consistency and structure to complement Maaya's naturally attacking style.

''She can dominate points when she steps inside the court, but we also want to build a stronger foundation with her serves and returns so she can construct points better,'' Paulina said.

Maaya''s growing reputation has also brought increased attention, especially during tournaments in India, but the youngster said she sees the spotlight positively.

''All the buzz around me has been very positive. The people who support you are the ones who want the best for you. I don't really see negative energy around me,'' she said.

Asked if iconic Rafael Nadal observed Maaya's game during any recent training session and offered any tips, Paulina said, ''He obviously loved how she plays and he gave us some technical feedbacks.''.

''Like some things to improve on her forehand and a bit on the movement so this is very specific technical details. I believe that was last year. I wouldn't say we have perfected them at this point but it's definitely something that we continue to work on every day and it's amazing to have his insight because obviously the eye he has for details is incredible.''

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)