Reigning Indian National Doubles Champion Soha Sadiq and her partner Akanksha Nitture have been on a fantastic run, reaching three consecutive doubles finals. We caught up with Soha here in Pune at the ITF W75 Championships to discuss her recent success and her journey in tennis.

Tirtha: So, you’ve had three back-to-back doubles finals in the past three tournaments. Your thoughts on this run?

Soha: I feel pretty confident, especially with the partnership I have with Akanksha, that we can achieve better things together.

Tirtha: How did your partnership with Akanksha come about?

Soha: It was all thanks to Akanksha’s mom. She saw that we could do well together and suggested we try it out. She was right, and we’re doing well with it.

Tirtha: What do you think is working so well in your partnership with her?

Soha: I think it’s just how we gel together and how well we know each other, which helps us perform better.

Tirtha: You’ve been at PBI Bangalore for several years now. Can you talk about your team behind you at the academy?

Soha: Yeah. For tennis, our main coach is Andres, who’s taking over. But the main thing at PBI is how helpful everyone is. The owner of the Padukone-Dravid Academy, Vivek sir, has been really helpful and has put everything in place for a center of sports excellence. That includes physio, psychology, and recovery, which every professional player needs.

Tirtha: Taking a step back, how did your journey into tennis begin?

Soha: It all started with my dad and his dream, which very soon, from the very first day of my tennis, wasn’t his dream anymore; it was mine. So, that’s how it started.

Tirtha: Who were your initial coaches and training base?

Soha: I started my tennis at the Mahesh Bhupati Tennis Academy, and then I went to China for a couple of months. But when I came to PBI, that’s when I believed that I could actually do it because of one of my coaches at PBI, who was Jorge.

Tirtha: When did you realize that you could pursue it as a pro career?

Soha: From the very first day when I stepped on the court. My only goal was to become a pro because I was very disappointed that they gave me a racket and ball and asked me to try to hit the ball over the net. I was like, “Where is the crowd? What is happening?”

Tirtha: You’ve been having promising results in singles as well. Last year, a quarterfinal in Bangalore and close three-set losses in Navi Mumbai. How do you review your singles game? What is working, and what needs improvement?

Soha: I really feel good about my singles now because of the work and amount of work my coach, Andreas, is putting into us, and the off-seasons have been very strong. Maybe a few more sessions of his amazing off-seasons would get even better results.

Rapid fire

Hobbies	Reading books.
Favorite travel destination	South Africa.
Favorite player	Roger Federer.
Favorite cuisine and dish	This is a little controversial, but it’s authentic Chinese.
Favourite home meal	Paya
A song that is on repeat mode for you	I don’t really listen to songs a lot, but if I would choose to listen to any songs, it would be proper Shahrukh Khan Bollywood music.
A place that you haven’t been to but would love to visit?	I would love to go to Japan.
Your best win so far, and why?	I think it was here in Pune. I beat Ria Bhatia when she was India number two.
If you could play a match at any court in the world, where would it be?	My dream Grand Slam is Roland Garros, so that would be my dream.