The Indian American tennis star says, from early on, he knew that playing tennis was “what I wanted to do.”
Rajeev Ram is perhaps the best-known Indian American sportsperson in the county. The Carmel, Indiana, resident — who won the mixed doubles silver medal winner at the Rio Olympics (with Venus Williams) — has been a well-known name in the ATP doubles circuit for a number of years, having won 12 titles and reached men’s doubles semifinals at Wimbledon and the US Open. He has also won two singles titles.
Born in Denver to Raghav and Sushma Ram, who immigrated to the United States from Bangalore, India, Ram was introduced to tennis by his father, while the family lived in the Bay Area. He displayed exceptional talent at both high school — he won a state title as a sophomore at Carmel High — and college, where he won a national doubles title and helped the University of Illinois win an NCAA championship as a freshman.
At the moment, the 33-year-old is the 11th ranked doubles player in the world — his highest ever. His highest singles ranking was 56, which he achieved last April.
“If Ram is not a star, he is the next best thing: a stalwart in the tennis cast, a veteran who competes honorably and has the ungrudging respect of his colleagues,” the Indianapolis Monthly described him.
In 2010, Ram launched a nonprofit, EntouRaj for Kids, in partnership with a local group, to raise money for college scholarships and tennis programs.
In an exclusive interview with The American Bazaar, Ram speaks about his career, his experience growing up as an Indian American and work with young tennis players, among other issues.
You started playing tennis at the age of 4 with your father and your journey over the years involved a lot of hard training, long hours, travel, and dedication. Did you enjoy the sport right away? How did you stay motivated from that young of an age and balance tennis and academics?
I was lucky because tennis was a source of enjoyment first and foremost, and that made all the hard work and sacrifices I made worth it because I knew playing tennis is what I wanted to do. As far as balancing academics are concerned, like many Indian households academics came first and were very important in my household.
However, I was lucky because my parents were progressive thinkers who thought that sports could provide me with a gateway to more educational opportunities than someone who didn’t play sports. They believed that sports could provide me with a scholarship to college if I got to a certain level of play and in general provide me with more options than if I didn’t play tennis. It was also viewed as a way to further my education by learning from so many experiences outside of the classroom like travelling. I was very fortunate my parents thought of it like that.
What is the best and worst thing about tennis and what is life like as a tennis pro?
The best and worst thing about being a tennis player is travel. I get to travel the world and see places that I possibly would never have visited which I’m very fortunate for. The travel can get excessive at times though; I play upwards of 30 tournaments a year, which means I’m away from home over half the year. It takes time away from family and friends and you get the good and the bad and managing that is a big part of being successful as a pro.
You played with Venus Williams at the Rio Olympics beating Sania Mirza and Rohan Bhopana in the semifinals to win the mixed doubles Olympic silver medal. What was going through your mind to play alongside with Venus Williams on the Olympic stage and beating top Indian tennis players? Tell us about your Olympic experience.
Playing with Venus was great but first and foremost I was very proud to represent the United States at the Olympics. We had 11 players on the country and most of us were first time Olympians. It was also cool to be part of a team which as a tennis player we don’t get the opportunity to do so much.
It was tricky playing the Indian team because I’m just as good friends with the Indian tennis players as I am with anyone on the tour. I’ve known Sania and Rohan for years and while it’s always tough to play friends especially in such a big match, we all knew that once we stepped on the court it was nothing personal but more about competition and winning for your country.
Can we expect to see you in the 2020 Olympics?
I sure hope so. It’s three years away and a lot can happen in that time but it’s certainly a goal of mine and hopefully I can come back with shiner medal this time.
Andre Agassi, in his book Open, talks about how lonely of a sport tennis is and that you are on an island, where there isn’t much interaction, compared to other sports. Do you feel that way at times about the sport?
It’s definitely true. You don’t have teammates and support system to rely on. In fact, tennis may be the only competitive sport where when you’re on the competitive field you actually are alone which is really unique. Because of that, I think it’s important to keep your life as “normal” outside of tennis. Personally, I try to be as normal and “human”, for lack of a better, word as possible. I keep in touch with my family and friends as much as possible when I’m not playing. This helps make tennis feel not as lonely by giving me something to look forward to outside of the court.
Tell us about your charity, EntouRaj for Kids, that raises money for youth tennis and college scholarships. How did you get involved with it and what is your goal for this organization?
The goal of the charity is to recognize children who have used tennis in a positive way to further their education. Sports is such a nice way to teach kids about how to live productive and healthy lives and personally I have a soft spot for the way tennis can do that.
Who do you admire the most in the tennis world?
I was very fortunate because when I was grew up we had an unbelievable group of American tennis players like Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi, Jim Courier, Michael Chang, Todd Martin who dominated men’s tennis. I’ve been fortunate enough to have personal relationships with a lot of them now. I also had my own sort of people to lean on. My dad being the first of those people. He introduced me to the game and spent a lot of hours with me on the court. I’ve had a couple coaches along the way who looked out for my best interest and I think that’s very key as a player and person to have role models who really care about you as an individual and not have any ulterior motives.
Novak Djokovic, in his book, talks about specific dietary changes he made to improve his game. What sort of conditioning in terms of diet and physical training is required to maintain your life as a tennis pro?
I think it’s great Novak found something that worked for him but I think it varies for every individual and what’s most important is finding out what makes you perform at the highest level. I think if you asked Roger Federer to live Novak’s life it wouldn’t work as good and vice versa. Finding your own way is the key to reaching your full potential and not necessarily doing what someone else does because that may not work for you.
What advice would you give to young aspiring tennis players, especially in the Indian American community?
It would be more for the parents than the kids and that would be allow your kids to live out their passion. If it’s the kid’s choice they will make of it what they can and find ways to make it work. From the kid’s perspective, you must enjoy playing tennis if you want to make it work in the long run.
Where do you see your career 5 years from now?
That’s a good question. Five years is a long time. I hope I’m still on the tour because I truly enjoy it. I’m at the age where playing another five years isn’t as definite. I have to see how my body is doing physically because I don’t see myself as a player who is going to play on tour just for the heck of it. If it ends up being that I’m still playing in five years I would be more than happy with it because how much I love playing.
Related Post:
Sania-Bopanna lost fighting to Indian American Rajeev Ram (August 15, 2016)