"Tamil Nadu has a great legacy in the sport" - Maaya Rajeshwaran recounts tennis journey from Coimbatore to Rafa Nadal Academy [Exclusive]

Maaya Rajeshwaran Revathi is in awe of Aryna Sabalenka's dominant style while also having predicted that the Belarusian would clinch the Australian Open women's singles title.

As it turned out, Maaya wasn't too far off the mark with the two-time defending champion making it to the Melbourne final but falling short in a thrilling title-round encounter. The girl from Coimbatore who loves watching the highlights of the big matches on the WTA tour could soon be playing a Junior Grand Slam herself.

In an exclusive interaction with Sportskeeda, Maaya Rajeshwaran recounted her incredible journey from the courts of her hometown to the elite Rafa Nadal Academy while also highlighting Tamil Nadu's tennis legacy.

Not many would associate the town of Coimbatore with international women's tennis but all that could soon change, with Maaya Rajeshwaran poised to make it to the big league.

Maaya, who began playing tennis at the age of eight because her dad wanted her to play a sport of some kind after school, turned professional a couple of years later. An affinity for competing and travelling, both of which she could do thanks to tennis, spurred her on during the early days.

"I started playing when I was eight. My dad was very keen on putting me into a sport for me to at least do something in the sports field after school. But I started pursuing tennis professionally when I was 10," she recalled.

"After two years, my interest in the sport grew, also since I loved to compete. Tennis was something that I was doing happily and wholeheartedly. I was really enjoying the fact that I was competing and travelling. So I felt like pursuing tennis professionally and my parents were very supportive of it," Maaya stated.

Maaya Rajeshwaran is proud to carry forward the legacy of the tennis greats from Tamil Nadu who achieved international recognition while also speaking highly of the tennis facilities in Coimbatore.

"There are quite a few really good academies in Coimbatore including two or three where I trained in as a junior. Even when I go back there now, there are so many people who treat me really well. Tamil Nadu has a great legacy in the sport. There have been so many great players from TN and so tennis is a well-recognised sport here," she noted.

A search for setting up a training base in Europe coincided with a dream offer that came her way from the Rafa Nadal Academy that left Maaya Rajeshwaran pleasantly surprised.

"I wanted to join an academy in Europe but the fact that during that time I got an invitation from the Rafa Nadal Academy was surprising. They called me for trials for a couple of weeks and I went there. They were very happy with me and I was also very happy with them," the Coimbatore girl asserted.

Maaya, who happened to meet Toni Nadal at the Academy, describes the veteran coach as "very humble" for someone who has played such a significant role in Rafael Nadal's career.

"He's such a nice man, very humble, very down to earth. One thing that I really loved about him was the fact that he is very humble and polite considering he achieved so much with Rafa. I mean, everyone knows that. And the fact that he's still very down to earth and humble was very inspiring," she said.

At an age when most teenagers love to hang out with friends and have fun, Maaya has a grueling schedule to follow. Even so, she doesn't feel she is missing out on being the average teen since making friends was never on her list of priorities.

"Since I was young, I never got to spend much time with my relatives. But my parents have always been very close to me. I haven't had many friends since I was young. Even the fact that I started travelling at a young age, making friends didn't make sense anyway. I never wanted friends," said Maaya in a tone that reflected a level of maturity well beyond her years. "I wasn't getting distracted very easily because I didn't have things to get distracted with."

"I really love Aryna Sabalenka since I feel she is really dominant" - Maaya Rajeshwaran

Maaya Rajeshwaran made a mark on the international stage at an early age. - Source: AITA on X

Being picked to train at the Rafa Nadal Academy isn't the only reason for Maaya Rajeshwaran to be over the moon. She won her first title in over a year at the Delhi J300, getting past a couple of seeded players in style while also breaking into the top 60 in the ITF Junior rankings.

The 15-year-old declared unhesitantly that her coach had made it clear that no player in the tournament was unbeatable.

"Even before the match I was very confident and very sure that I was going to win if I played well. Even my coach believed that I could beat anyone in the tournament. No one was unbeatable in the tournament for me," Maaya Rajeshwaran revealed.

Maaya follows the highlights of the big matches of the ATP and WTA tours, squeezing in some time during lunch breaks.

"When I am travelling, when I am eating, I do watch matches. Because during lunch, I have about an hour and a half or something. Or an hour and a half to two. So I actually watch tennis at that time. While I am eating, I probably watch tennis for an hour," she disclosed.

Maaya Rajeshwaran, who radiates a sense of overwhelming confidence in her abilities, used to look up to Serena Williams in the past but is now a big fan of Aryna Sabalenka. The reason she holds both players in high esteem is because of their ability to dominate matches with a "strong mindset."

"Actually, I didn't start looking at someone and then getting inspired to play tennis. But over time when I was 12 or 13 years old, I liked Serena Williams. And now I really love Aryna Sabalenka because I feel like she is very dominant. Sabalenka would be my favorite to win the Australian Open since she has been so dominant there over the last two years," Maaya stated before the women's final.

"They have got very strong mindsets. And especially Serena because she dominated women's tennis for 20 years single-handedly," she added.

A strong mindset is what helped Maaya Rajeshwaran travel the world during the course of the Junior ITF tour. At a time when Maaya had no travelling coach, her mother was her constant guide and companion on the tour.

"I didn't travel with a coach earlier. But it was always me and my mom. My mom would always travel with me because I always told her that I love at least one parent to be with me. It was never tough for me to travel around when she was there," the young champion declared.

Now though, Maaya Rajeshwaran has a travelling coach from the Rafa Nadal Academy who was with her in Delhi. Maaya would like nothing better than to make her junior Grand Slam debut on the clay courts of Roland Garros because she would prefer starting with a "European Slam."

"I think the French Open would be the best to play in. I have never been there while the Slam is going on. But I have always imagined that it would be a great environment. Because in Europe, it is all about football and tennis. They celebrate tennis so much. So if there is a Slam in Europe, the environment is going to be so nice," she said.

Indian tennis fans are watching on with an expectant air as a determined teenager from Coimbatore sets her sights on the big league. Going by her recent record and avid determination to match, not much it seems can stop Maaya Rajeshwaran from fulfilling her dreams on the international stage.