Akanksha Nitture is the reigning Indian National Doubles Champion and has been rising up the charts on the Pro Tour over the past year. Indian Tennis Daily had the opportunity to interview her during her time in Pune this week.
Tirtha Mutha: You’ve had some close matches against top 400 players recently, in Solapur and Navi Mumbai. How do you review these two matches?
Akanksha: Yeah, those two players were seeded in the tournament, and I think they were both in the top 300. Those were very close matches, and they were really good. I even had a match point in the first one in Solapur. I won’t say I didn’t have chances—I definitely did—but there was a lot of improvement in those two matches.
Tirtha Mutha: You also reached the singles final in Bangalore. How do you review your game there? What’s working well for you to achieve these results?
Akanksha: Bangalore has always been nice for me. The KSLTA courts suit me well. That week was actually very good—I reached the doubles finals as well as the singles finals. We’ve been working on a lot of things, and we had a pre-season, so I think the practice paid off.
Tirtha Mutha: You’ve been training at PBI Bangalore for several months now. What made you choose PBI?
Akanksha: Before PBI, I used to train in Mumbai. Lately, there weren’t many players there, and I had to travel a lot for everything. PBI has everything in one spot, so I don’t have to waste time traveling. That was the major reason.
Tirtha Mutha: Can you talk about your setup at PBI? The coaches, physios, and everyone else working with you there?
Akanksha: It’s pretty good. Everyone is very connected. We have everything in one place, so everybody knows what we’re doing at all times. It’s a great environment.
Tirtha Mutha: Who are you currently coaching under?
Akanksha: There are two main coaches—Ritu sir and Andres from Colombia.
Tirtha Mutha: You’ve faced financial challenges in the past that prevented you from pursuing a full schedule on the pro tour. Can you talk about your sponsorship situation now?
Akanksha: Yeah, of course, we all face that when we turn pro. But I’ve been lucky—I’ve got sponsorship from Lakshya and one more sponsor. It helps a lot with traveling more.
Tirtha Mutha: What do you think you need to work on in your game to make the next big jump into the top 500 in the rankings?
Akanksha: I think we all have aspects of our game we want to work on, but for me, mentally is the first thing I want to focus on right now.
RAPID FIRE
| Hobbies | I like traveling and trying new things |
| Favorite travel destination | Singapore because I recently visited there |
| Favorite player on tour | Serena Williams and Rafael Nadal |
| Favorite cuisine and dish | I’m a foodie, so anything—but Indian cuisine is my favorite |
| Favorite home meal | Anything my mom bakes. I’m not home much these days, so I really miss that |
| A song that’s on repeat for you | It depends on my mood, but before matches, I usually listen to something like “Unstoppable” or similar motivational tracks |
| A loss that hurt you the most, and why | I’d say the match in Solapur. It would have been the biggest win for me so far, and I even had a match point in that match |
| Toughest opponent you’ve faced so far | I played Emma Raducanu here in Pune back in 2018. That was pretty tough |
| If you could play a match at any court in the world | Any of the Grand Slam courts |
| Your best win so far | I can’t think of a specific win, but I’d say the recent matches where I didn’t get the win but still put up a pretty good performance |