CHENNAI: Every youngster in the state often dreams of bagging the TK Ramanathan award at the Annual Day function of the Tamil Nadu Tennis Association. The prestigious award is given to the best player in the state and this was instituted by none other than the legendary Ramanathan Krishnan in memory of his father and noted coach TK Ramanathan.
Manish Suresh Kumar, who won the Fenesta nationals men’s tennis title and the National Games gold, was thrilled to bag the TK Ramanathan award this year. “It’s great to win the Ramanathan award. It was a good season last year in 2022 when I won the National Games and the National’s biggest tournaments. I am really glad that I was able to do that in back-to-back weeks and I am really proud of that,” said Manish, who also got a cash prize of Rs 30,000 with the award.
Balancing both studies and tennis for the most part of his school life, from class 12, he realised that tennis is his calling and started to concentrate more on the game. “My father Suresh and mother Vijaya were never into sports. My dad is a chartered accountant by profession. My brother used to play when he was young but was not so serious. I started to play tennis from the age of nine and went up the ladder slowly,” said Manish.
Winning the nationals is the first sign that a player is on track to be a professional tennis player. And Manish does believe that the national crown is indeed special. “Yes, winning the nationals, it was an amazing feeling, because I have been trying to win the national since I was a kid. I have played all the nationals U-12, U-14, U-16, U-18, and finally being able to win the biggest stage in the men’s category, it means a lot to me. I was really happy and my parents were also really proud of me because it was really big thing for them,” he said.
Manish’s ATP ranking at the moment is around 720. However, his best-ever ATP ranking is 508 and in ITF it’s been 156 and in India it’s been in the top five. “I remember doing really well in China in the ATP Challenger where I was in my best form in 2018 so that was by far the best tournament I played. My best performance till date is beating Stephen DS, a Canadian in China. I have won totally three singles titles — two in Colombo, one 2018 and the other one last year in July. I also won another tournament in India in Indore in 2021.
I have also won four doubles titles. Three of it came last year in Sri Lanka, and one in Indonesia. I wish to keep working hard and keep improving on my ranking and add more titles,” he insisted.
Manish, who, as a kid won his first major tournament at the Triangle Tennis Trust, Nandanam, got to play the Tata Open in 2022. “I went down first round of the qualifying, but to play the tournament was a good learning experience. My first coach is Suresh Kumar Sonachalam and he is still my coach. Big thanks to him for all the support that he is given and also to Balaji,’’ said Manish.
Life of a tennis player is not easy in the circuit. Manish is learning it the hard way, but is keen to fight it out. “One has to travel alone to most of the places, figure out things by yourself so it’s not all easy. And in terms of cost, it’s a lot; tennis is one of the most expensive sport. The training is good in Europe and it’s not easy for all the Indians to afford that kind of training. The cost of playing tournaments abroad is very high. But I see and play tournaments where one can cut the costs and play,” he signed off.
CLIMBING THE LADDER
Manish’s ATP ranking at the moment is around 720. However, his best-ever ATP ranking is 508 and in ITF it’s been 156 and in India it’s been in the top five. As a kid, he won his first major tournament at the Triangle Tennis Trust, Nandanam, got to play the Tata Open in 2022.