"The next goal is to play Australian Open" - Niki Kaliyanda Poonacha on reaching the top 100, the split with Bollipalli & playing the Davis Cup

Niki Kaliyanda Poonacha cuts an imposing figure on a tennis court. 6 feet 3 inches tall and 195 pounds with a booming serve, the 29-year-old has been making consistent strides on the ATP Doubles tour in the last few years. Poonacha began the 2023 season, ranked outside the top 300 in doubles. By the start of 2024, he had halved his ranking to No. 157. And by June, he had broken into the top 100.

Now ranked just outside the top 100, Poonacha's hard work has earned him a place in the Davis Cup squad. Ahead of India's tie against Sweden later this week, we caught up with the former national champion to talk on a variety of topics, including his short-term goals and ambitions, why he decided to find a new partner in Anirudh Chandrasekar, earning a decent living out of doubles and the impact of Rohan Bopanna's success, amongst other things.

Exclusive Interview with Niki Kaliyanda Poonacha

Sportskeeda: To start with, can you give us your thoughts on the season so far and how do you assess it yourself?

Niki Kaliyanda Poonacha: I think this is my first full year on the tour, playing mostly doubles. The start of the season was very good, and till mid-season, it went well. Then, of course, we kind of hit a roadblock. It didn't go well for us. We were losing eight or nine weeks in a row or something like that. Now I'm playing with a different partner, Anirudh Chandrasekar. I think it is going well. I didn't meet certain goals of mine but I have also gotten a few things that weren't part of my goals.

Sportskeeda: This year, you broke into the top 100 in June for the first time. How big was that for you personally?

Niki Kaliyanda Poonacha: It was a big thing for me. I think every upcoming tennis player wants to see their ranking in two digits. That's a great boost. For self-confidence and self-satisfaction, it does mean a lot for any tennis player in that way.

So reaching the top 100 was a big thing. It had prolonged for me, because after I won the Mexico title, I thought as per my calculation, I was supposed to be in the top 100. But then because there was a Masters 1000 happening at the same time and because they don't update the rankings for two weeks, it got prolonged a little bit longer than what I expected. I was kind of nervous, to be honest, to play tournaments during that time. But when I broke into the top 100, it was a relief, to be honest.

Sportskeeda: In terms of ranking, do you have a specific milestone that you want to target next?

Niki Kaliyanda Poonacha: Yes, so the next goal for me definitely would be playing in the Australian Open. That's the major goal. For that, we have to be around the top 70 in the world and that would give us a good chance to get into the Grand Slams.

The other goals are more short-term, based on improving my game and having a certain plan for my game as well so that would get me to where I want to be.

Sportskeeda: You also had some good singles results this year, beating Sumit Nagal and reaching the quarterfinals in Pune. As your doubles ranking has increased, it would be more challenging to get to play singles events where your ranking is lower. So what's the focus for you between the two?

Niki Kaliyanda Poonacha: At this point, I would say singles is not a priority. But I would like to play whenever I get the opportunity. I'm not going to say that I will stop completely stop playing. As you mentioned, I had a very good start to the year. But then even with the good start, since I'm playing much bigger events in doubles, I wasn't able to get into the singles draws.

I was more focused on attaining my doubles goals. I couldn't find time to play and schedule singles because I have to go to the ITF Circuit for that. So yes, as of now, singles is not a priority, but I will not stop playing. I'll still look to play some tournaments where I can get in as an alternate. But I won’t change my schedule for singles.

Sportskeeda: You spoke about teaming up with Anirudh Chandrasekar. Is there a commitment to play long-term with him?

Niki Kaliyanda Poonacha: With Anirudh, we have played before in ITFs. Actually, he went into doubles much earlier than me. And I was playing more singles at that time. And before he went pursuing doubles, we were playing together quite a few ITFs and we were doing well. We are back together now and I would like to do it as a long-term partnership for sure.

Anirudh and I communicate well. We are good friends. Anirudh is also traveling with his brother, Vignesh. I have played doubles with him too in the past. So we kind of connect very well as a team and we communicate well. Our game style compliments each other very well. We have good chemistry also. I think we'll have a good rest of the season and definitely, I would like to stick with him for a longer period.

Sportskeeda: You had a very successful partnership with Rithvik Bollipali earlier. You mentioned there were a few weeks where there were not too many wins. What was the thought process behind either going in separate directions or grinding it out through the difficult moments when the results are not coming?

Niki Kaliyanda Poonacha: It's true that when there are difficult times when you stick around, it definitely means a lot more. However, this time I made a decision that I wanted something different.

Both Rithvik and me were in a mutual agreement where we felt that what we had was great. However, since we didn’t have a coach traveling with us specifically every week, it was getting difficult to address the things we were facing on court. There was no one to really be there in person to guide us. We had a coach traveling with us at the start of the season. We had good results when there was a coach around us.

However, Rithvik has a different coach who cannot travel because he's a college coach in the US. Rithvik wanted to stick with his coach and we couldn’t find someone mutual who would travel with us. So, moving forward, it was tough to improve. That’s why we ended it on a mutual note

Around the same time I was looking for a partner, Anirudh was also looking for one. He’s been traveling with his brother most of the time. That was more like a plus point for me because I have a good relationship with both of them and him being a coach can definitely help. That's one of the plus points of the new set-up

Sportskeeda: Moving on to the Davis Cup, you made your debut earlier this year in the tie against Pakistan and won a singles rubber. Can you talk about the experience? Also, you are part of the team against Sweden later this week. There is a good chance that you could play a live rubber this time around. Do you feel more nervous due to that?

Niki Kaliyanda Poonacha: It’s true that in the last tie, I played a dead rubber. However, it was still a good experience and it was on grass. That’s not a surface I regularly play on. It was a great experience for me to be in that environment to play for India for sure.

This time around, there's a chance that I could play a live rubber and I'm really looking forward to it. I guess there would be a few nerves in the beginning. But I think after a couple of games, it will be fine. At the end of the day, we have to win and have to focus on how to win rather than getting stuck there and not performing.

Sportskeeda: A lot of the Indian players have been part of the Doubles Dream of India program. Can you tell us how has that helped you personally and all the players as a group?

Niki Kaliyanda Poonacha: The Doubles Dream of India is a great program for India. The program is great because Mr. Kishor Patil is the main sponsor for the program and it's run by Rohan Bopanna. Rohan is still playing and is among the top players in the world even today. It gives a lot of advantages for the players who are in the program. We have two coaches, one fitness trainer, and one physio. They're not traveling with everyone at the same time. Sometimes there's a coach going with certain players there and the same week there is a physio going with some other players. They are trying their best to give some support to the players. That's a great initiative and has helped a lot of players sometimes.

I think having a physio in a program is really helpful because no one is not getting injured often anymore. And when there's a coach, it really improves the game of a player. They're trying to improve the program as well, trying to get more coaches in place and more physios so that probably in every tournament, there can be a physio and a coach which would tremendously help the players. And we have a camp once every six months.

We recently had one in Winston-Salem just before the US Open. All the players were there for a week and it’s great to have a training period in between the season. It really helps on fine tuning our game so that we can go on and play much better for the rest of the season. So it's a really good effort and all thanks to Patil sir and Rohan who want to make a difference.

Sportskeeda: Do you think that having similar programs for singles players or junior players would also help the development of tennis in India?

Niki Kaliyanda Poonacha: It will help because any support is always helpful. However, I've seen a lot of good players coming up and then they choose to go and play college tennis. That's the trend happening now. There's nothing wrong in that because it's what they choose to do. But let's say that a similar program is happening and people put in so much effort and funds for a junior player to develop and then he chooses to go a different way, which is not very beneficial for the program. So there are pros and cons.

But I think a program like this will bring more players to the top level. I think it will give confidence to the junior players that someone is there to back me up. I can play freely. I don't need to worry that I can't go to the next tournament because of the financial struggle or because I don't have a good coach. These things can be prevented and it can definitely change the players' mindset when it comes to going pro. So I think a program like this will definitely help get more players into the top level. If we can have five singles players in the top 250, and 2-3 players in the top 100, that will make a really big difference in Indian tennis.

Sportskeeda: You spoke about Rohan Bopanna and his support for the doubles program. Rohan himself has had a great year on the tour, winning a Grand Slam and becoming world No. 1. How has his success impacted and influenced you and other players in the country?

Niki Kaliyanda Poonacha: I think in India, in general in any country, if a player is doing really well, it inspires a lot of people to take up the sport or try and follow in their footsteps.

That’s what Rohan has done. And when he became world No 1, there were a lot of players coming in to play doubles. There was a lot of attention going into the Doubles Dream of India program after that and he was able to get more funds for the program. What he achieved, being 44 years old and being world No. 1 and winning a Grand Slam, is something incredible.

That shows that the longevity in the sport has increased. Now you can play till 40 -45 if you're physically fit and mentally fresh. And not just playing, but being the best in the sport. He has shown that it's possible. I think that will have an impact on the generation coming up right now and inspire them to take up the sport.

Sportskeeda: People have spoken about how difficult it is to make a living out of playing tennis. That becomes tougher for doubles players. From your experience, what level or ranking do you need to attain in doubles to make a decent living out of the sport?

Niki Kaliyanda Poonacha: I think for singles players, it's top 100. That's what everybody says. In doubles, it's a lot more difficult. The prize money is split in half, and the percentage that goes towards doubles anyway is very low. I think for a doubles player, if you're top 40, top 50, you could make a decent living. Not a great one but a decent one.

Sportskeeda: Looking back, is there anything you would like to have changed in your journey as a professional tennis player?

Niki Kaliyanda Poonacha: There are a few things I would change. The knowledge I have now if I wish I had in the past, then it would definitely change a lot of things for me. The way I see tennis and the places I chose to go and the places I chose to train, all those things would change. One of the things is where I've been coached, that would definitely change, I would say.

Sportskeeda: What is your biggest dream/ goal in the sport?

Niki Kaliyanda Poonacha: For me, I would say an Olympic medal. That would be the biggest for sure. In fact, we were in a tournament recently and one of the interviewers asked me what would you choose to have a Grand Slam or Olympic medal? I chose the Olympic medal for sure.

Sportskeeda: One final question. You were working with Borna Bikic. He had given a quote in an interview, which was not specifically about you but about Indian players where he said, “I really love to work with the Indian players. (But) they are not easy, they are not easy at all. They can’t take the suffering that much as the others and they don’t understand the aspect of taking suffering in order to make success.” Do you agree with his assessment?

Niki Kaliyanda Poonacha: Yes, this is very true as a general statement. I have spent a lot of time with Borna. I know what a top athlete does. Forget a top athlete, even an average player who's ranked 400 in the world compared to an Indian, how much more work they do. It's just much higher than what most players in India do. What he mentioned is, I would say, definitely true.

Earlier, I didn't know that because I never had exposure to that level of training, how the players think, how the players work, and everything. For the last year, I've been on the ATP Challenger circuit. I've been seeing the players and I've been working with him. I train with him how he trains the top players. So I agree with his assessment in a general sense.

I won't say that it applies to everyone though. There are players, for example, Sumit Nagal. He's playing at the top level now. He's ranked in the top 70, top 80. He's working really hard and that's the result he's getting. And those who are not at the top, simply aren't suffering enough.