Indian ATP doubles professional Adil Kalyanpur (IND, 349) has composed and performed an original rap track titled “The Unfiltered Journey of a Tennis Player,” pulling back the curtain on the financial pressure, solitary travel, and 52-week ranking loop faced by players outside the sport’s elite tier.
In a 2-minute, 16-second video shared on Instagram under the tag #RapForImpact, the 26-year-old Indian pro sits on a courtside bench with his racket and tour bag before intercutting his verses with real footage from life on the road: late-night airport gates, sleeping across economy seats, washing match clothes in a hotel bathroom sink, taping injuries, and childhood clips from when he first picked up a racket.
Kalyanpur, who reached a career-high doubles ranking of 258 in June 2025, opens the track with a blunt hook—“Tennis is a scam, yeah I’m sometimes not a fan”—to capture the intrusive doubts that can hit a player right in the middle of a match when every trip is a fight just to break even.
“I’m like if I just get this win today, I get higher in the ranks, / But it slowly dawned upon me, yo, what happens after that? / What’s the plan? / Earn enough money, but just to break even and barely afford my own travel? / Spend my whole 20s alone with no friends and just roaming around on this planet?”
— Adil Kalyanpur (IND, 349) in his original rap verse on the financial reality of the tourSeparating social media highlights from life on the lower tiers
In the 1st half of the track, Kalyanpur contrasts the public perception of professional tennis—endorsement deals, packed television stadiums, and fan photos—with the day-to-day grind experienced by thousands of touring pros competing on the ITF World Tennis Tour and ATP Challenger circuits.
For players outside the top 100, prize money rarely covers the combined cost of international flights, hotels, coaching, stringing, and physiotherapy. Yet as Kalyanpur raps, thousands of competitors stay on the road year after year chasing a narrow window of opportunity at the top of the rankings.
“It’s where there’s thousands just like me, / The tour where it’s not how it might seem. / Y’all think that it’s photos and fans and TVs and brands, but that’s all a lie, see— / It’s only the top that you’re seeing online, / But here’s what is really behind: / It’s a whole bunch of crazy-ass players like me who just know it’s delusional to be trying until you make it.”
Why the rolling ranking system traps players in a constant loop
One of the sharpest passages of Kalyanpur’s song breaks down the psychological weight of the 52-week rolling ranking system. Young players are often told to keep pushing until they reach Wimbledon and the 4 Grand Slams, where prize money finally makes the sport financially sustainable.
Before reaching that stage, however, every ranking point earned comes with a 1-year expiration date. Instead of taking weeks off to train and develop their game in practice blocks, players on the lower rungs feel forced to enter tournament after tournament just to defend expiring points and hold onto their ranking.
“’Cause you win a match today, you get some points, you get a ranking, / In a year you lose it all, unless you play and win more matches. / So you’re stuck inside a loop, trying to move forward, then what happens? / You end up getting restless, choosing competition over practice.”
— Adil Kalyanpur on the 52-week rolling points loopHe also reflects on how childhood dreams of walking out onto Centre Court near Henman Hill at Wimbledon evolve as a player gets older, shifting from chasing childhood posters to setting aside ego and fighting to recoup years of family and personal investment.
The break-even grind
Outside the top tier, tournament prize money barely covers flights and lodging, leaving players to spend their 20s travelling solo across continents just to fund the next week.
The points cage
Because ranking points drop off after 12 months, touring pros often sacrifice training blocks for non-stop tournament play to avoid sliding backward.
Resilience & gratitude
Despite a structure that primarily rewards the very top, the daily struggle builds mental toughness and life perspective that no classroom can teach.
Finding pride in the character built through the grind
While the opening verses confront the harsh economics of the tour—echoing similar reflections shared this week by Indian-origin pro Govind Nanda on his return from a 1-year burnout hiatus—Kalyanpur pivots in the final movement of the song toward gratitude and pride.
Smiling into the camera on court, he explains that even though professional tennis can break a player’s spirit, the years spent problem-solving through self-doubt and tough losses have shaped him into a stronger person off the court.
“Since I started playing to this day, homie trust me I ain’t the same dude, / But I say it with a smile, say it with some pride, ’cause I’m genuinely grateful / For the learnings that I’ve got: / How to stay focused with my thoughts, / How to grind in life through the darkest times when the world is looking dark, / How to find the light when the mind is tired and the doubts are in my heart, / To keep trying hard and keep fighting on when everything just falls apart.”
The release comes just days after Kalyanpur also spoke up about court safety and player conditions at the ITF M25 tournament in Solapur, continuing his push to speak openly about what touring professionals experience behind the scenes.
He closes the track with a salute to fellow pros grinding across the lower tiers: “Yeah, the character it’s built in us, no school teacher ever taught. / I have respect for tennis players, ’cause they’re here fighting against the odds, / In a system that just sadly only rewards the ones on top. / That’s the reality of this sport—maybe it’s time to open up.”
Watch and listen to Adil Kalyanpur’s full rap performance on Instagram (@adil.kalyanpur).