Samir Banerjee (USA) reached the finals of the ITF M25 Indore event in January 1st week before bowing out. Rahul caught up with the former Wimbledon Boys singles champion to understand his journey on the pro tour and college tennis so far.

Rahul: Hi Samir, thanks for taking the time to chat with us. We really appreciate you giving us a reason to root for someone in the ITF M25 Indore final, especially since there weren’t any Indian players left after the quarterfinals. So, how are you feeling in India? Is this your first time here, or specifically in Indore?

Samir Banerjee: No, my dad’s brother lives in Indore, so I’ve been here twice before. Whenever we visit India as a family, we make sure to stop by Indore.

Rahul: So you come quite often then?

Samir Banerjee: Not since COVID. We came in 2019. I played a junior tournament in Delhi then. Before that, we’d visit every two or three years.

Rahul: Was that just to India, or to Indore specifically?

Samir Banerjee: To India. Most trips to India, we would come here to Indore.

Rahul: Your family was originally from India, and then they moved to the US?

Samir Banerjee: Yeah, my dad is from Calcutta, Assam, and then my mom was from Hyderabad. They studied in the US.

Rahul: So your roots are from Andhra Pradesh?

Samir Banerjee: Yeah.

Rahul: Do you know the languages?

Samir Banerjee: Very little.

Rahul: When did your family move to the US entirely? You were born there, right?

Samir Banerjee: Yeah. My mom and dad moved to the US to study, and then they met there and started working.

Rahul: You were born in which city?

Samir Banerjee: I was born in New Jersey.

Rahul: And you’ve been born and raised there. When did you first start playing tennis? At what age, and how did you fall in love with the sport?

Samir Banerjee: I played a lot of sports growing up. I played soccer, tennis, baseball. My dad has a group of friends that he plays with, long before I was born, and they’ve been playing for over 20 years. When I was younger, I used to go and play with him after. I was just drawn to the individual aspect of the sport, the competitiveness. I preferred it to team sports. I liked it being in my control. Over time, I just grew to love tennis more and more. I told my parents I wanted to focus just on tennis when I was around 12.

Rahul: These days in India, they often focus entirely on one sport from a young age. Do you think playing different sports at that time actually helped you in your development?

Samir Banerjee: Definitely. Playing other sports gives you a good overall basis for what you like and what you don’t like. For example, soccer helped me with my footwork for tennis, and baseball helped me with my hand-eye coordination. I loved sports growing up. I still follow soccer a lot, and I still watch NFL football. I liked a lot of different sports. It’s tough to give your all to many different sports. At some point, you have to focus, but I think it’s a good experience to play different sports.

Rahul: We’ve seen similar paths for other great players who used to play soccer. Eventually, they have to focus on one sport. So, from around age 12, that was your decision to focus entirely on tennis?

Samir Banerjee: Yeah. I wanted to keep playing others, but my dad told me that you don’t want to be a jack of all trades and a master of none. So he said I should focus on one. So I said okay, I’ll play tennis.

Rahul: How many years did you play before you won your first Grand Slam – Wimbledon, in 2021?

Samir Banerjee: I started at six years old. I played some tournaments here and there. It really picked up when I was 10 or 11. I started doing well in some local and regional tournaments and just kept climbing the ladder. I played some regionals, started playing some nationals, got some exposure to good players, went to some USTA camps, played with other players. As I got older, I kept developing. In tennis, your results are very black and white. The rankings show how you’re doing, and there are a lot of metrics to see how you’re progressing. I was showing good progress, so my parents continually pushed me. It was a good track.

Rahul: Were you a prodigy from the beginning? Did you think you were different from the first time you played tennis?

Samir Banerjee: I think I was always pretty good from a young age. I don’t think I had a specific moment where I suddenly got much better. I think I was always talented, though there were some ups and downs. Generally, I think I was always pretty good. I was good at most of the sports I liked. For example, in baseball, I was good, but I didn’t practice that much. The swing was messing up my tennis swing, and my tennis swing was messing up my baseball swing. As the levels got higher in the other sports, it was tough for me to keep up because I was relying on talent a lot instead of putting in extra work. I dedicated all that time to tennis, which I enjoyed the most. Overall, it was a good decision to choose tennis.

Rahul: When you won Wimbledon for the first time, it was a great achievement. How was that feeling?

Samir Banerjee: It was good. It was a long time ago now, almost three and a half years ago. It’s still a surreal moment. Nothing but good memories there. It’s a great achievement to look back on and reminisce about. But it’s also important not to rest on that achievement. It should lead to more achievements. Earlier, I would think, “Oh, you won Wimbledon, so you’re set,” but in reality, you have to keep producing results. It’s just juniors; pros is a completely different game. It’s about adjusting to this level and continuously getting better.

Rahul: Do you think you’ve improved since then?

Samir Banerjee: I had some injury troubles right after Wimbledon. I had a bad elbow issue, I broke my wrist, and I had some miscellaneous injuries which hampered my progress a little bit. Then I went straight to college. I didn’t play many matches in 2022, the year after. I slowly started finding my rhythm in college. Overall, I think I’m in a pretty good place now. I think I’m playing good tennis. I’m happy with my game. I’m doing good training at a tennis university in Germany. The coach there, Alexander Waske, really knows how to get the best out of me, so I’ll continue with that. I think for now, I’m on the right track. But for a couple of years, 2022 and into 2023, it was a little tough for me trying to find my game and get the results.

Rahul: After Wimbledon, you joined Stanford, right? How was that process? So many people in India dream of going to US college tennis. You were a world number two in juniors when you went to Stanford. Did you get in solely based on that, or were you also good at academics? I’ve heard that SAT scores matter.

Samir Banerjee: Stanford, and other elite academic schools with good tennis programs, value both. You need to be getting results on the court and have good tennis credentials, and you also need to be fulfilling your academic requirements. You need to have a good GPA and take AP courses. For a school like Stanford, you need good grades. You can’t get in just based on tennis; the coach can push your application, but admissions won’t give you a spot if your grades aren’t good enough.

Rahul: So you were always good at studies as well?

Samir Banerjee: I think I have been. I went to online school after COVID, which maybe allowed me to dedicate a little more time to tennis rather than academics. In normal school, I was doing both a lot. I’ve always been pretty good, but it’s about dedicating time to each. When I was studying for the SAT, there were days I couldn’t practice as much because I needed to study, and vice versa. Sometimes when I’m at a tournament with a lot of matches, I don’t have as much study time. It’s a give and take situation. Managing time and making sure you’re on top of both is very important.

Rahul: You were very sincere, I would say, and managed your time well?

Samir Banerjee: Yeah, definitely. My parents are very academically focused. There’s a big emphasis on academics in our house. My parents came here and studied and worked, and my sister is getting her master’s degree and studying very hard. Maybe I’m a bit of the unconventional member of the family. But on the other side, my dad studied a lot, but he’s also a big sportsman. He loves tennis, he loves cricket. He grew up playing soccer and played soccer in college. So there are two sides to it. He’s academically focused, but he also pushed me in tennis. He loves sports, so it’s a good balance

Rahul: That’s very nice. So it’s been like two years at Stanford?

Samir Banerjee: Yeah, this is my third.

Rahul: I don’t understand. Are you allowed to play tournaments while you’re there at Stanford? How does that work?

Samir Banerjee: Yeah, it’s always been about… At least for me, it’s more about the coaches. Coach Goldstein, Coach Coup, our new volunteer Harrison Adams, they’re all very supportive of playing pro tournaments during school. They want you to go out and get that experience and see how you stack up. But the biggest thing is Futures tournaments take up a whole week, and you miss school for a week. You have to catch up on work, notify your professors… It’s not easy. We have 10-week quarters, so if you miss a week, and you’re probably going to miss weeks for college matches or other matches, it’s just a lot of school to miss. It’s not easy because some classes require attendance.

Rahul: You were playing in Germany as well?

Samir Banerjee: Yeah, this was over winter break. We’re on winter break now, so I’m going back to school after this. I trained two weeks in Germany and then came here. This fall I played two Futures tournaments and missed at least two weeks of school. It’s tough. You have to make up the work, do assignments on the road.

Rahul: So you’re doing that right now also?

Samir Banerjee: Right now we’re on break, so no assignments thankfully. But when we’re in season, we’ll be traveling more, and I’ll have to do all that again.

Rahul: Since you’ve been there, for someone who wants to become a pro tennis player and maybe has a chance to get support through US college tennis, what do you suggest? Should they go that route, or should they just stick to trying to make it professionally and not go to college? Because college tennis is good, you get your degree, but it takes time that you could be putting into your professional career.

Samir Banerjee: I think it’s definitely an individual decision based on how you’re doing. If you’re doing very well as a pro, you’re having good results, your fitness is good, and you have a good team around you, then maybe you shouldn’t go to college and just try playing professionally. With the rules now, there are a lot of ways you can… even if you try for a year, you can still go to college after. You see a lot of players doing that now, playing on tour and then coming back to college.

Rahul: Which I don’t understand.

Samir Banerjee: But on the other hand, if you just finished juniors and haven’t played many pro tournaments, college is always a good option. You have a very good setup; you have guys to practice with all the time, coaches, training facilities. It’s very good. But it’s a very individual decision.

Rahul: Absolutely right. Makes sense. So, a very hot topic: Your teammate Nishesh is doing so well. You must have seen his transition. In the beginning, he wasn’t doing this well, but now he’s playing qualifying rounds, winning matches against top 100 players. What difference have you seen in his game that’s allowed him to reach that level so quickly?

Samir Banerjee: He’s always shown this great level of maturity, even at a young age. We came into college at the same time, but I’m almost two years older than him. He was 17 when he came in. He’s just very disciplined with everything he does. He gets to the court early, warms up, practices, cools down, stretches. I think that’s partly because he had a lot of injuries when he was younger, so he’s very disciplined in taking care of his body. On the court, he’s just very certain of what he needs. In practice, he’s just… I don’t know how to explain it. He’s very self-aware, knows what he needs.

Rahul: But what changed in the last year?

Samir Banerjee: He’s always had the level, though. Freshman year, he came in and won college nationals in the fall. Then he got injured, had wrist surgery, rolled his ankle, cramped… But I think he’s always had the level. Maybe now his game is a little more refined for the tour because he’s played a lot of matches and gotten a lot of experience. But his level has always been there. He’s made some small improvements here and there, maybe on the serve. His racket skills have always been top-class, his returns amazing. I honestly think it was just a matter of time before he made the jump. He just needed more matches and to stay healthy for a prolonged period.

Rahul: Just a follow-up question on that. As a teammate, has his success been… has there been any sort of jealousy?

Samir Banerjee: No, no, no. He’s one of my very good friends. All the best to him, very happy for him. He’s doing great and he deserves it. He puts in the work, has a great game. There’s no jealousy, just more motivation. I see him doing so well, beating top players, and it motivates me to try to push and get there as well.

Rahul: Let’s talk about your tennis now. Today, what went wrong? What was the game plan coming into the match? We all know you weren’t feeling well.

Samir Banerjee: I felt very good yesterday in the semifinal. I played with good intensity, returned well, put pressure on my serve. Today, I had a game plan to attack his backhand, come in, play smart, use my serve. But I couldn’t really do that because I was feeling ill in the warm-up. I felt lightheaded last night, throwing up. I got very bad sleep.

Rahul: What did you eat or drink? You came to Indore, you must have had something that didn’t agree with you.

Samir Banerjee: I think I had a cold coffee. I told them no ice, but maybe they put a little ice in it. It was unfortunate because I’ve been so good with everything this whole week, and then just before today, this happens. It shows how careful you need to be at a tournament.

Rahul: You can’t go wrong with anything.

Samir Banerjee: Yeah, it shows how careful you need to be. Even if you feel a little off, it can completely affect you. After every point today, I was panting, my stomach wasn’t feeling good. I felt like I had no energy, very weak, because I threw up my dinner last night. So I had no food in me either. It was just an unfortunate situation. But overall, I was happy with my game this week. I played some good tennis, implemented some things I’ve been working on. So I’m happy with that and I’ll take that confidence into the college season.

Rahul: Before coming to this tournament, did you have a game plan, something specific you were trying to achieve?

Samir Banerjee: Something I’ve been working on with my coach in Germany, Alex Waske, is just playing the right way, not worrying too much about the results. Results will come and go, but playing the right style of tennis—playing aggressive, quick on my feet, with big serves and intensity—that’s what matters moving forward. That’s something I’ve been trying to do, even if it’s tough. It’s more comfortable for me to stay back and just try to make balls, but I need to play the right way and enforce my game on the opponent. That’s something I’ve been working on, and I think I did a good job overall. Not tonight, but…

Rahul: In the last five tournaments, you’ve reached the… Do you think what you’re working on, what you’re planning and aiming for, is working for you?

Samir Banerjee: Yeah, definitely. The training has made me more disciplined, and it’s showing on court. There’s a big emphasis on fitness and movement, and the more fit I am, the better I play. I have all the tools, all the shots, but it depends on my movement and discipline in matches. I had a very good end to the summer, won my first Futures tournament, and then in college I made the semis of a 25, and then the finals here. So it’s showing good results in Futures. The next step will be to try to play some Challenger tournaments, see how it goes there.

Rahul: In the next tournaments you play, what do you think you have to improve to make the top 100 or top 150?

Samir Banerjee: Overall, serve and return are so huge. I’ve been working on my serve a lot, and it’s getting better. Return can still get better. Those are the two keys. And fitness-wise, I’ve made good strides and gotten a lot better, but I can get even better. The best players in the world are also the best movers. So if I can move better, be more efficient on my feet, that will elevate my game. Also, working on developing my forehand as a weapon. I’ve done a good job so far, making it a lot better, but it can always get better. Those are the points of emphasis right now.

Rahul: What’s the plan for the coming year? Are you playing more Challengers, more Futures?

Samir Banerjee: Right now, I’m going back to Stanford. I have to go back and do the college season. Maybe I’ll sprinkle in some Challengers here and there if I can, or Futures, whatever I have time for. I have to look at the schedule. For the summer, definitely, we’ll look at playing some Challengers, some Futures, and see how my level is, see what I can do. I’m looking forward to it. I’ll be playing in the summer and hopefully throughout the fall.

Rahul: Great. We’re nearing the end of our time, so we normally ask some rapid-fire questions. Let’s start with your hobbies. What’s your hobby?

Samir Banerjee: I like playing chess.

Rahul: Your favorite travel destination?

Samir Banerjee: Singapore. It’s so nice, so clean. The food is great. I loved it there. I had a good week there tennis-wise, so maybe that influenced my decision.

Rahul: The place you haven’t been but want to go to?

Samir Banerjee: Australia. That’s the only junior Slam I didn’t play because they canceled juniors for COVID.

Rahul: Favorite cuisine?

Samir Banerjee: Indian.

Rahul: What do you like most?

Samir Banerjee: I usually like butter chicken, but I’ve been loving dosas here.

Rahul: Favorite home-cooked food?

Samir Banerjee: Dal rice. It’s very good, comfort food.

Rahul: Favorite opponent?

Samir Banerjee: Federer. He came to Stanford. I didn’t get to practice with him, but he was on court with us, talked to all of us.

Rahul: Your favorite playing surface?

Samir Banerjee: Grass.

Rahul: You have grass courts at Stanford?

Samir Banerjee: No, I haven’t played on it too much, but that’s definitely my favorite surface.

Rahul: The toughest opponent you’ve played against?

Samir Banerjee: Probably Nishesh. I haven’t played him in a match in a long time, but we practice together a lot.

Rahul: I hope you reach his level soon and even beat him in the future.

Samir Banerjee: Thank you.

Rahul: Our segment is almost over, but I have some additional questions. This is for the young people who are watching, who are maybe like you. What do you think is different in the US from India in terms of training, coaching, and the financial aspect?

Samir Banerjee: I think overall tennis is a pretty expensive sport, you know, to get equipment, coaching, other players to play with. Accessibility to courts is a little better in the US. There are public courts everywhere; it’s easy to find people to play with. It’s still expensive to a degree if you want to enroll in an academy, but I think it’s more accessible. In India, from what I’ve heard, you need to be a member of a club to access courts. I don’t know enough about the coaching here, but I know recently there have been a lot more players from India coming up. I was training with Aryan Shah in Germany, and he’s been doing well. He’s from Ahmedabad, and he said tennis is very popular there. So I think it’s definitely on the upswing. In the US, there’s just more access to facilities and coaching.

Rahul: Makes sense. I think we’re almost done. Thank you so much for your time. I hope you have a great year ahead.

Samir Banerjee: Thank you. Thank you very much.