4 Sep 2018
 

In 2008, tennis star Ajeet Rai was deemed by NZ Ballkids coach Andrew Baylis, too small and lacking enough stamina to be a ball boy for the Davis Cup tie between New Zealand and China.

Ten years on, the 19-year-old is now 1.88 metres tall and has been named in the Davis Cup team.

"I was just about to go play a match in Jakarta and I got the call from the New Zealand selectors on a group call."

When that happened, the Taranaki player was overwhelmed. "I gave my brother [Amrit] a hug, while trying to talk on the phone. It was the best feeling in the world."

Ajeet will compete in South Korea in mid-September with team mates Michael Venus, Rubin Statham, Artem Sitak, and Marcus Daniell.

While he didn't run for balls during the 2008 competition at the TSB Stadium, he did meet his heroes. 

"I have got autographs in a book from them saying 'if you keep training you may be able to make the Davis Cup team one day'."

Ten years ago, Rubin Statham and Marcus Daniell were in that team; now Ajeet is playing alongside them.


 

The teenager's tennis career began 16 years ago. "I started playing when I was three."

He relished being able to spend time with his dad, Rakesh, who is Ajeet's coach, and Amrit, now 25. "It was fun being with my dad and brother."

He was school age when he started playing competitively. "I found I was pretty good at it, and when you are young and good at something…"

His mum, Madhu, a psychologist, says Ajeet's natural tennis ability didn't endear himself to everyone. Some members didn't want him to play because he was beating adults and players were leaving his first club. 

They even received a letter from the club asking that Ajeet not attend junior nights because it was demoralising for the older kids.   

"His first proper match was when he was five. He won the match but wasn't happy with the line calls," she laughs, remembering his precociousness.


 

The teenager's tennis career began 16 years ago. "I started playing when I was three."

He relished being able to spend time with his dad, Rakesh, who is Ajeet's coach, and Amrit, now 25. "It was fun being with my dad and brother."

He was school age when he started playing competitively. "I found I was pretty good at it, and when you are young and good at something…"

His mum, Madhu, a psychologist, says Ajeet's natural tennis ability didn't endear himself to everyone. Some members didn't want him to play because he was beating adults and players were leaving his first club. 

They even received a letter from the club asking that Ajeet not attend junior nights because it was demoralising for the older kids.   

"His first proper match was when he was five. He won the match but wasn't happy with the line calls," she laughs, remembering his precociousness.

 


His commitment, passion and work ethics has given us no choice but to fully support him. 

"You have tried to stop me playing tennis," Ajeet says to his mum.

Not once has she had to wake her youngest son to go training – he's always been ready and eager. 

As Ajeet has grown up and continued to succeed, there have been many knockers.

"People say 'he won't make it'," Madhu says.

"Because they don't want to see you succeeding," Ajeet continues. "They want to bring you down so you aren't doing well."

But he has way too much spirit to be beaten. "I love it when people say that – I just want to prove them wrong."

"It's been a tough ride," Rakesh admits. "We shelter Ajeet from a lot of stuff. He cannot hear what people are saying. He's always so passionate about tennis; that was the only world he knew. It drove me to keep him going."

Taranaki's rising tennis star Ajeet Rai has goals of being the best in the world | Stuff.co.nz

Some winter mornings were tough when he had to train on icy courts. On other days he would be training in rain even on Friday nights when his friends were out socialising, but he stayed incredibly committed to his sport.

Madhu and daughter Ashna would watch them pull up at home. If the car was blaring music, they would have had a good session, but if all was quiet and a car door would slam, they'd know it wasn't good news.

As the family mediator, Madhu has often been caught in the middle of the two strong personalities.

"When on tour they ring me at any time of the day or night having no consideration of time difference."

Sometimes, it's because Rakesh isn't happy about the way Ajeet has handled himself during matches.

Ajeet is a colourful character at home and on the court but denies having a smart mouth. "I like to act in the heat of the moment. I like to include the crowd a lot and have fun. You've got to entertain and sell yourself."

He's especially popular with tennis crowds in Asia. "I ask them where I should serve." 

In South Korea this year, his fastest serve was clocked at 211km an hour.

Not only does Ajeet like to perform, he likes to inspire. He was hitting balls on court the other day when a young boy's ball rolled on to his court, but he was too afraid to get it. The tennis star called him over and they even had a few hits together. "I want to include kids and be very approachable."

He's also a young sportsman with dreams.

His first was to play Davis Cup tennis for New Zealand, which has come true. "I want to win a grand slam, become world No 1 and put Taranaki and New Zealand on the map for tennis," he says.

And just in case he gets a big head, he gets extra help at home. 

"We keep him humble, we keep him grounded," Madhu says.

Having said that they are immensely proud of the former New Plymouth Boys' High School student, who they say has an amazing work ethic around tennis. 

His regime in New Plymouth begins with a 5km run every morning between 6am and 8am, an hour at the Snap Fitness gym, then yoga at the Escape Coffee, a body healing session with Charles Rodrigues, two hours on the court at the Rotokare Tennis Club with Rakesh and two hitting partners. One is usually Mike Fleming and often Amrit, but only when he's home. His day ends with a massage from Bryn Gibson. 

"It's just great in New Plymouth because I have a really good time here. It's so easy to get around. I was stuck in heavy traffic and it took me only 10 minutes to get to the gym."

For relaxation he heads to Westown Golf Club for a highly competitive round with Pukekura Tennis coach Mark Belcher, who baits the teenager good-heartedly all the way.

One of the biggest hurdles the Rai family has faced is funding. But there have been incredibly supportive people, businesses and organisations in Taranaki. 

They name Greg and Andrea Hareb, Chris and Janice Taylor, Taranaki Elite Athlete Foundation, Charles Rodrigues and Andrew Judd and Guize Clothing, among those who have been especially generous. 

Performance coach Clint Packer from Wellington has been enormously supportive, as have Glen and Sarah Ferguson from San Diego, who are like extra parents to him when he's there. 

While Rakesh is his main coach, he is always seeking extra help for his son and learning new skills himself. "I have worked with a lot of developmental coaches – the best in the world."

"When you say it takes a village to raise a child, I think it takes a country to raise a player, especially in international sport," Madhu says.

This year the International Tennis Federation gave Ajeet $US12,500 for being the best performing junior in the Pacific to help him make the transition to professional.

His main sponsor is Prince racquets and apparel. 

Earlier this year, Ajeet played his first professional match at the Ugandan Pro-circuit Futures Tournament, which was significant on two fronts.

He won the match against a Russian player to collect his first professional point – the first of 10 points he gained in the first three months on the pro-circuit. 

Uganda was also where Rakesh's dad was born, and the tennis coach grew up.

His dad was a school principal, who was forced by to flee the country in 1973 to escape the atrocities of the Idi Amin regime.

The family of four kids moved to the back of Stratford, becoming one of the first two families in New Zealand to be taken in as refugees from Uganda.

Rakesh and Ajeet attended the tournament, which was a healing journey of the older Rai.

While the pair do have a mercurial relationship, they are close and have great respect for each other.

When he was age six, he was playing a man during interclub and kept hitting to his forehand. During the break, Rakesh advised Ajeet start hitting to the man's backhand. But the boy's answer was swift: "But when I hit to his backhand he chips over my head."

From that moment on, Rakesh looked at his son differently. "I stop people giving him a specific tactical plan. The ideas he has in his head are extraordinary.

"When you are one of the top players in the world, you have that X factor – you think differently. Ajeet has that," Rakesh says. 

While Ajeet is a rising star with big goals, his reason for playing tennis is extremely down to earth. 

"It's a sport that I get to play with my dad. It's a family bond."