Tennis News: Mukund Sasikumar – the reluctant, realistic new India No one in the ATP rankings

The 25-year-old Indian won his maiden title at an M25 Futures event in Sintra, Portugal, after a five-year-long wait. The 25 points he received from the event helped him gain much-needed confidence and break into the top 1000.

Sasikumar began the season on a positive note, starting in the qualifying round of a Challenger event in Forli, Italy. He had an excellent run and finished the season as the runner-up despite having just recovered from Covid-19.

However, Mukund Sasikumar could have picked hard-court challenger tournaments that were favourable to him. He ended up competing in clay court events at higher altitudes, unfavourable conditions owing to his recent Covid-19 infection.

He went back to the Futures level as those events were in conditions suitable for him. He went on to play two back-to-back Futures events in Indonesia in August before eventually winning his maiden title in September.

Sasikumar said: “I don’t want to lie to myself. Others being injured has played a part in me being No 1. But you can’t take credit away from all the matches I won because I too was in a tough position.”

Role of family in Sasikumar’s tennis success

Sasikumar was first introduced to tennis by his father at four while his family lived in Kolkata, West Bengal. However, he did not like the sport initially but eventually went all in on tennis.

“I wasn’t the best of workers and most passionate of kids. It was not love at first sight – I sometimes still wonder if I ever did fall in love. But once I started competing and got the rush of tournaments I started enjoying," Sasikumar said.

Despite emerging as the Indian number one on the ATP men’s singles rankings, Sasikumar believes that the 2022 season has been the hardest of his life.

Sasikumar is keen to compete on centre court, Grand Slams, and Davis Cup to further advance his tennis career. He believes his journey to the top tiers of professional tennis is just beginning.