For those who have followed the Indian tennis circuit over the last decade, the name Shruti Ahlawat has always been synonymous with promise. But for the last two and a half years, that promise was shrouded in the silence of injury. Today at the DLTA, that silence was replaced by the roar of a home crowd as Ahlawat claimed her first professional title.
The victory at the HCL ITF W15 was more than just a trophy; it was the culmination of a grueling 15-month journey back from the brink of career-ending uncertainty.
Prasenjit K. Basu: Congratulations, Shruti, on your first pro title. I represent sports-india.com and Indian Tennis Daily, and we are here to celebrate your victory. At sports-india.com, we’ve been following you since you were 14 years old, or even earlier. Our page has many articles covering your journey. You were ranked 48, then had a two-and-a-half-year gap. It was very brave of you to come back. What were some of the mental and physical challenges you faced during that absence from professional and junior tennis?
Shruti: Physical challenges are one thing; you can bear with them and improve physically. But mentally, it’s not easy because my whole life I was training, playing matches at a certain level, and suddenly I was doing absolutely nothing, lying in bed for many months. There were many ups and downs. Some days you just don’t want to do anything—no rehab, no work—but that’s the time when you have to keep going and keep working hard. If you work on that, you get so much mentally strong that other things won’t matter to you that much. I had the right people around me; my family was very supportive, then the right coaches, the right physio. So all thanks to them that I’m able to get back and I’m able to play injury-free, that’s the biggest thing for me. I’m very grateful to them.
Prasenjit K. Basu: You’ve had a very good run over the past 14-15 months on the comeback trail, culminating in this victory. What does this first pro title of your career mean to you? I love that smile, by the way!
Shruti: It means a lot, of course, and especially winning in Delhi at DLTA, where I train. The whole crowd was very, very supportive. And you know, my friends, my family, all my coaches, my physio, they were able to come and watch me and support me. So I’m very happy and very grateful to win the first title in Delhi only. So yeah, I’ll just keep hoping to keep going upward and upward.
Prasenjit K. Basu: I noted that during the final tiebreaker, you were mentally really strong and you kept playing what I call low-percentage shots—basically going for your shots and succeeding. That requires a special temperament. How did you do it?
Shruti: I mean, I have been to that level, even in juniors I’ve played at a certain level. So playing these matches actually reminds me that I can do that, and it just automatically gets flowing. And then I keep telling myself that this is what I fought for for two, two-and-a-half years, coming back from injury. I wanted to be in these situations where I can give my 100% physically, mentally. So that really helped me.
Prasenjit K. Basu: We noted that you haven’t played too many tournaments outside India yet. Are there constraints, or are you going to now venture out outside India as well?
Shruti: Yeah, definitely, definitely I’m going to play outside India. I’ll discuss with my team, with my coaches, and definitely. Because even coming after from the injuries, there were small, small things, something here and there. So now I’m all fit, all ready to play, so I’ll definitely go outside India and play.
Prasenjit K. Basu: No financial constraints? How about any sponsorships and so on?
Shruti: No, I’m sponsored with HEAD; they sponsor the equipment, but nothing else. So my family, like I said, my family is very supportive; they are just funding me.
Prasenjit K. Basu: Thank you so much, and it was great watching you the last two days. Real pleasure. And all the best for your future.