Indian tennis has long had an issue with corporate and systemic support. But once in a while appears support that’s so good, that it’s scarcely believable. Mr. Kishor Patil, the CEO of KPIT, has emerged as a huge pillar of support for Indian tennis over the years. Apart from running one of India’s largest tech companies, Mr. Patil has taken a personal interest in the betterment of Indian tennis, not just in the short run but in the long run. Being consistent is an extremely important mantra for him.
Indian Tennis Daily caught up with Mr. Patil on the sidelines of the Doubles Dream of India camp in Bangalore in December 2023.
Q. So, could you first talk about how you started getting into Indian Tennis, generally as a fan first and then later on as somebody who sponsors?
KP: I’m a fan of sports. And especially tennis, I’ve enjoyed it for a long time. I’ve been watching tennis for a while but started playing very late. I always had in mind to do something for sports. And as I started playing tennis, I thought, maybe there’s something I can do there. At that point in time, there was no ATP Challenger in the country. So Indian Players did not have opportunity to play and win with home advantage. So we started ATP Challenger in Pune, which we consistently did for seven years. Many players like Yuki, Ramkumar, have won these tournaments in singles, and, of course, many players actually got the all-important points. We did it with all the passion. ATP Challenger almost looked like tour event. We got a good set of people to work on this, because we had to make the tournament successful on our own. I was very happy with what we did, and then, naturally, we got a lot of sponsors from the corporate world. I slowly realized that people would do that and host tournaments. For India, we need six Challengers a year. I’m delighted this year, there many tournaments will be happening.
I was thinking, what’s next which can create bigger impact? I was thinking on whatever we do , how to make it sustainable. I was also thinking about how to maintain continuous development activities for many players while I case of a tournament we get only six days of the tournament and within those days too only a few get benefitted. I spoke to a few people on this point., I thought about a doubles program as Indian doubles players always have had a good record in the past. At least in the near future, I thought that may be the place to really focus. Fortunately, I met Rohan a few times. Talking to Rohan, we could get to a concrete idea of what we can do. We had this mindset that we needed a specialist double coaches specialist, not the singles coaches training doubles, and that we needed them on tours. The physio help is also vital. We spoke to all the players, and that’s what they confirmed. So, this idea came up, but I think you need a very good, credible person who can put it together. We were so lucky to get Rohan because he knows the players on the circuit, the best coaches, and the physios. We initially also got physios from outside, but now, it’s Indians because our players are also comfortable with Indian physios. There could not have been a better person other than Rohan with passion and knowledge for this.
Then we did a camp in Dubai first after that. The idea is we do it as a unit. If you look at it, like a model in Italy, Russia, or Canada, they play as a team with one coach. That’s why their countries have come up, and many players have considerably come up. So if at least we have one, if not two camps, then there is always this camaraderie. Once people start playing with each other, more Indian pairs, not necessary, but it always helps specifically to win the Asian, Olympic or an international medal, which is very important. Once that comes, then there will be a lot of other support that comes with it, be it from the government and private sectors. Once Stars are born, and then they will grow on their own. So that was the idea, so that’s why we started. When we started, we knew that it is not just for 1-2 years, but for 7-8 years, two Olympics, at least.
Q. This is the second season of the camp. How has it evolved and how is it different this year?
KP: The thing about this program is, we don’t pay any of the players, right? There’s is no obligation on any one of them to join. So you have to create a lot of trust and develop a lot of value for them to engage. So I think the key point was to create a trust, then they see the value, and then they really see the continuing value in that. So I think there’s a process which doesn’t happen overnight. And people started noticing that there is some concrete program for doubles, because otherwise, it was very neglected. Now you can see more number of people are playing doubles. I think we have 7 players in the top 100, going up form just one person. So that is so amazing. And a few people are just on the cusp; I’m sure they will also make it. Then, hopefully, some of these players certainly have the potential to come into the top 50. And then they’ll have to find their way up. We’ll see when we get there. So the idea is to do this consistently. These results came in 18 months or so. So I guess that’s the biggest achievement and indication that this is working. And we still have to do it for women; we wanted to do it.. But we will find out in some way
Q. Is this for Women’s Doubles or Women’s Singles?
KP: We will the focus on doubles only. See, it’s better to do one thing and do it better, so it’s better to focus on doubles. So that’s what we want to do. And then, of course, we’ll see what else we can do, looking at the results. That is also the most important part. We also started getting some other sponsors, you know, earlier it was largely KPIT. Now, we have Avendus, a leading investment banker as another sponsor, some individuals have come up. Having other corporations and other people is useful because then we can make it bigger, better, and more inclusive. And so that’s the main thing we achieved during this session.
Q. In fact, I was going to touch upon the point you talked about earlier. 2023 has been one of the best years we’ve seen for Indian tennis. Like you said, 7 players in the top 100, and Rohan is having a phenomenal year. How much of an impact has the programme had on this?
KP: if you look at each one of them, they have improved the ranking. So it cannot be by accident. It has never happened. So this has contributed; mainly the help they get while on tour. specific training and, I’m sure, other factors as well. So, the data shows that things have improved. We just hope you know we go from here, and we can get success. We are all looking to win some international tournaments, as we need it as a nation.Rohan has lion’s share in this.
Q. What are your aspirations for 2024 for Indian tennis?
Consistency is what we are looking at. Any program can run for one or two years, and then you may have one or two stars, but that’s not what this program is about. If you have to build ld it for the long term. consistency is what you require. And more people, at least 8-10 people, are coming around to play bigger tournaments. What we would like to see is more people playing the grand slams. We had three people who played grand slams last year. In 2024, we’d like to see more. So once they get into Grand Slams, hopefully some of them will enter into 50. But let me tell you; we are not looking at one year; we have taken a medium-term, long-term view. And when it will happen, I don’t know, this year, maybe next year, I don’t know. that’s what the idea is, to make it work , it is not by accident, and we want to create a pipeline.
Q. I was asking this question specifically because it’s an Olympic year.
KP: Hopefully, we can get something. You can never rule out anything. We are taking a more long term systematic approach.
Q. You were talking about sponsorship.What have been the challenges? Or how easy or difficult has it been to find all the sponsors who are willing to invest with you?
KP: Right now, even today, we are not active, scouting for sponsors.. It’s more about networking, people passionate about tennis, etc. The reason is for a tournament; people get a lot of branding and coverage in the newspapers, TV, or other media. So it is this big event with limelight and people enjoy that. They get marketing. This is not a glamorous activity. We don’t ask for logos. A lot of people told me, but we don’t. We are okay if they [players] get other sponsors for themselves. So they earn money for themselves. We are not paying them. So what we’re taking on is the role of an enabler. So it has to be for a bigger cause it has to be a deeper engagement. And there’s no branding, or any other benefits for the sponsor. So it has to be for a cause. So that’s why we have very few sponsors, you know, it’s not as easy.
Q. So you were talking about how we need to have more Challengers. And I mean, like, I think the US has probably 10-15 Challengers. We have, unfortunately, you know, have Challengers in the single digits. How do we get to those double digits? What do you think we need to do differently?
KP: It will happen consistently, is what I feel. we did it consistently for seven years. That’s why our thinking is consistency. And then things happen. More of our corporates will come, more states will come, more state organizations will come, it will happen organically. Now that we are at 4, we’ll go to 6. Just like China, it happened in China, you know. We don’t have tour events, which we need to figure out, but we need Challengers right now. But then we’ll get there.
Q.What do you think is the issue here? Is finding sponsors difficult, or is it something else?
KP: I mean, consistency, it has to be over a long term. For 1-2 years, people will come in. But for 4-5 years, they need to. So that is very important.
Q. Do you plan on hosting Doubles Dream of India in different parts of the world? To acclimatize to different conditions?
KP: We have first to see what is the most convenient. So this time is generally more suitable.First time we did camp in Dubai Ideally, we wanted to do in Europe or US when people are traveling out there. We had thought about it, but we could not do it. So it’s a process we’ll figure out. We have to find the right balance between men and women also. So, we thought this could also be extended to women. We may probably have to do something separate.
Q. Could you talk about the people behind the scenes?
KP: There are many people, but because of how he brings value and the time he puts in, Rohan has lion’s share. Abhishek Tamhane plays a big role silently . Of course, then there is staff from different organizations like PMDTA. But if I had to give real credit, these are the two people who have really helped in operationalizing it. Then naturally, we have the whole ecosystem we have, whether it is physios or coaches or the way the players have supported it.