Bjorn Borg and Vijay Amritraj interact with kids at the Tamil Nadu Tennis Association event 

Rapt attention: Bjorn Borg gives tips to kids at the Chennai Open Challenger. 
| Photo Credit: R. RAGU

For kids pursuing a sport in their formative years, nothing can be more precious than interacting with the stars of the game. These interactions can be the spark that lights their ambitions to pursue it at the highest level.

If that star has a staggering 11 Grand Slam men’s singles titles and is widely considered one of the greatest to have ever graced that game, it is doubly more special.

It is not every day one gets expert advice on the proper grip when you are volleying from the winner of six French Open and five Wimbledon titles.

Memorable day

Bjorn Borg.
| Photo Credit:
R. Ragu

For about 25 kids (almost equal number of boys and girls) in Chennai pursuing tennis, Wednesday will go down as one of the most memorable days of their lives as they got tennis lessons from the legendary Bjorn Borg, who was accompanied by Indian tennis legend Vijay Amritraj.

The Tamil Nadu Tennis Association organised the event in which a few clubs and academies were asked to send some of their most promising players for the special session.

For close to an hour, the legends observed and offered their wisdom to the boys and girls alternatively. They started by watching the striking abilities of the players before addressing volley techniques and serves.

During the session, Borg said, “Only thing you have to think about is when you hit your ground strokes, (you have to be) like you are going to come into the net, but you are not going to come in. Keep your weight forward.”

He added, “You have to spend a lot of time on the tennis court; that makes you a champion. If you want to be a good tennis player, spend time on the tennis court.”

Proper technique

On the adjacent court, Amritraj taught the kids the proper technique while volleying: how close to the net one should be and how to meet the ball in their line of sight.

“Even if you are alone, you can still practise your serve. We used to practise our ball toss inside the home before we went to bed,” recalled Amritraj about his preparations during his early days.

He later fielded questions from parents too, and enlightened them on the opportunities tennis can open in terms of getting quality education from some of the best institutions worldwide through sports scholarships.