Uppal confident that Indian women have enough depth to make it to playoffs

The Indian women’s tennis team is hoping to make it to the playoffs of the Billie Jean King Cup for the second year running and captain Vishal Uppal is confident that the team has enough depth to do so.

“Some may think playing at home as pressure, I look at it as an opportunity to show your skills. It’s about getting ready physically and mentally and focus on what we have to execute,” Uppal told The Hindu as the players sweated it out at the DLTA Stadium here on the second day of their preparations on Friday.

Four of the six members of the team — Ankita Raina, Sahaja Yamalapalli, Shrivalli Bhamidipaty and Vaidehee Chaudhari — are the same as last year. Vaishnavi Adkar and Rutuja Bhosale being the new additions as they have come in for Prarthana Thombare and Maaya Rajeshwaran.

Uppal is clear on his girls’ preparations. “Hard working, committed and hungry to do something for India,” he summed up before elaborating. “The team’s shaping up good, everyone’s hitting the ball well, we just have to make sure that we can execute the strategies we make.

“Ankita brings in a lot of experience for the team, as does Rutuja, they’ve been around the block for a while and that really matters. Sahaja’s been on the team for a few years now and it’s a great opportunity for her to step up and perform to the best of her abilities. Vaishnavi has had a breakthrough year so far. Shrivalli’s had a bit of an up and down run but hopefully she’ll be healthy and Vaidehi has also done well,” he explained.

The BJK Cup comes with its own team dynamics and Uppal admits both the motivation and pressure are very different. “There’s a different pressure that comes with representing your country, there are people supporting you, it’s more comforting and girls really want emotional support when they’re in a tight situation.

“Let’s be honest, no one really cares if you’re 400 in the world but they do if you play and win for India. Obviously we want to make sure that we have more players at the Grand Slam level. Our ultimate goal is to get to the elite 8-16 but we have a lot of building blocks to get through before that,” he said.

The Asia/Oceania Group I competition will be held from April 7-11 with New Zealand, along with Indonesia, expected to be the toughest challenge for the Indians.