Indian Junior No. 1 Krisha Mahendran (World No. 123) earned her maiden pro tour victory at the ITF W15 event in Rolling Hill Estates in Los Angeles California. Varma Alluri had an opportunity to speak to the Indian Junior No. 1 on her Tennis journey so far, her commitment to University of Southern California and on the path ahead.
The transcript of the interview is below:
Krisha, so to begin with, can you tell us a little bit about yourself and your background?
I’m 17 years old. I was born in Chennai, India. My parents were living in the U.S. at the time. So I was raised in California and have been playing tennis since I was 7 years old. I’m committed to play college tennis at University of South California from the fall of 25 and I’m really looking forward to it.
What got you into tennis in the first place?
My mom liked to watch Tennis a lot. So it would be on the TV and I just wanted to be like the players that I saw there.
Who were your initial coaches and where did you start taking lessons?
My first coach was Louis Lam and that was at Westlake Athletic Club. I worked with him for the first seven years of my tennis career and then I just switched to Oliver Messerli. He runs Tennis Power Academy and I’ve been working with him for about four years now.
Krisha Mahendran with Coach Louis Lam
At what age did you start and when did you realise you’re good at it and you can pursue it seriously?
At age 7. I wanted to pursue it seriously when I was probably 8 or 9. The decision was pretty quick. I just really liked watching the pros play on TV and I really wanted to be like them.
What were some of the initial tournaments that you played in the US where you had a good amount of success?
I remember starting off playing the level 7s and the level 6s. Those went well for me. I was No. 1 in the 10s and the 12s pretty quickly. Then I played the Easter Bowl U12. I got 6th place in singles and then the bronze ball for doubles.
So it was a fun tournament for me and that was probably my most memorable tournament.
And the pandemic hit when you were about 13. And around that time is when most players make a decision of prioritising tennis to academics.
So that was about the same time that I switched coaches. I felt that I was plateauing because I had worked with the same coach for 7 years. So I just wanted to get a new set of eyes to look at my game. I realised that I wasn’t improving as much as I wanted to.
So I switched coaches and that went a lot better. The first couple of months were definitely a struggle just because of the change and stuff. But I learned that he was putting me out of my comfort zone every day on the court. So that was really good for me and that was really an area that I could have developed and I did.
In terms of academics, I was just homeschooled, just doing online school.
What did you do to keep yourself fresh with tennis during the pandemic?
I don’t think I could practise, like actually go outside and practise for two months. I just did fitness at home. We had a garage and so I just did a lot of agility ladder hurdle stuff. After two months, one of our close family friends, he was a head coach of CSUN.
He was kind enough to let us use those college courts to practise on just privately. He was super helpful with that. So I kind of got on court before the majority of other players could.
You made your ITF debut in Las Vegas in 2022.
I actually didn’t think I was going to get into the tournament because I was 6th in the alternate list or something. But we decided to take a road trip there as it’s only a four or five hour drive. Then I got lucky and got in. I had to play two or three rounds of qualifying and then got to the quarters. That was super fun.
I like playing in Las Vegas.I like the altitude and the windy conditions there. I mean I do better in it than most of the other players. It was definitely a fun experience.
Then you played the ITF JB1 in Pune in 2022.
That was my first time playing in India. It was a fun experience. The weather was very interesting. I had not experienced anything like it before. It was raining every single day. It was super hot and humid. It definitely took quite a bit out of me to get used to the conditions and stuff.
It was definitely a good learning experience. It was definitely fun to play in my own country.
How did you find the quality of play? Do you feel any change in the style of play or quality or anything?
I felt like the style of play was definitely very different. I felt like the players over there were definitely faster, were making more balls. The quality was about the same. It was definitely a high level, definitely very competitive matches.
You won four singles titles already on the ITF Junior Circuit.
I won three in Costa Rica and one in Guatemala.I like playing in Costa Rica. I like the conditions there. The quick courts in Guatemala with super high altitude. I like playing in those types of conditions. I feel like it really suits my game. My serve works well there.
My lefty serve and my flat backhand. Those were definitely fun. It’s pretty hard to win an ITF title just because you have to bring your A game every single day for a whole week. It’s pretty hard to do, especially when you’re playing different opponents, different styles, and it’s also a different environment.
I felt like in those tournaments that I won, I really brought my level.
How do you describe yourself as a tennis player?
I would describe myself as an aggressive baseliner, lefty. I like to use my lefty forehand to hook people off the court. I really like my backhand as well. It’s really flat. I would say I’m pretty feisty and competitive out on court. I like to have fun out there.
You committed to USC to play college tennis, right? What are the different aspects that you had to consider while making that decision?
I was looking at many different schools. I really like the coaches at USC and I like the program. I watched them practise and I really felt like they had super intense practices. I wanted the practices to be just as high level or if not more as the ones that I’m doing right now. USC offered that.
Obviously, they have great academics as well. I’m planning to do business there. Also I’m an only child. I wanted to stay close to my parents if I could and USC is only 30 minutes from my house. So that was super nice as well.
What are you looking for in college tennis? Is it something that you’re looking at as a good pathway to GoPro?
Yes, for sure. I feel like it could definitely make the transition a little bit easier from juniors. Instead of going like junior to pro straight, it could be like junior college and then pro. That would definitely make the transition a little smoother.
College tennis, it’s a lot of pressure. You’re not just playing for yourself. You’re playing for something more. Not just your teammates, not just your coaches, but also the whole entire school. So combine that with the no-ad play. It definitely prepares you for tight situations that you might find yourself playing in professional matches.
I ideally want to do one or two years at USC and then hope to be good enough to then play pro.
You’ve been with Coach Oliver for some time. What’s the impact that he had on you?
I feel like definitely the biggest thing that he has taught me is discipline and how taking you out of your comfort zone can really help you grow so much in a short span of time. At first, he was making me do so many different things, changing my whole game. It was kind of upside down at one point, but I just stuck with it. I showed up every day and then within a couple of months, it started really clicking for me.
So just kind of trusting the process, and he’s really big on discipline, so I’ve definitely learned that from him. He really instils good work ethic qualities in you.
Krisha Mahendran with Coach Oliver Messerli
You still wanted to represent India. It is a pretty big decision given all the opportunities that you get here.
It was definitely a big decision for me but I think that deep down inside I knew I wanted to represent the country that I was born in and not just living in. I’m proud to be Indian, so I really am happy to have that flag right by my name.
What’s your schedule for the next month or two?
I’m going to continue to play these W15s that are in SoCal, which is kind of a no-brainer for me because I live here. I won’t be travelling in the next month or two, but I’m still deciding what I’m going to do in August.
RAPID FIRE QUESTIONS
| Question | Answer |
| Hobby | Going to the beach |
| Fav travel destination | Florida |
| A place that you haven’t been but would love to go there. | Bahamas |
| Fav Tennis player | Viktoria Azarenka |
| Fav movie | Home Alone |
| A loss that hurt you the most | The loss in the final qualifying round yesterday |
| Dream match to watch live | Nadal vs Federer |
| Fav Grand Slam | Wimbledon |
| Dream Doubles Partner | Federer |
| Toughest opponent so far | Alina Shcherbinina. I played her at W35 Arcadia. She was difficult to play |
| Fav Tennis shot | Backhand, cross court |
| Shot that you would like to get better at | Forehand drop shot |