‘I would definitely want to play in the Grand Slams. I think it’s long due’: Riya Bhatia looks ahead to 2023

Through the majority of 2022, Riya Bhatia has flown under the radar. Bhatia hit the headlines at the start of the year when she bounced back after losing the second set to script a crucial victory and hand India a win against South Korea in the final match of the Billie Jean King Cup 2022 Asia/Oceania Group I in Turkey, and confirm their place in next season’s Group I. Couple of months later, the 25-year-old became the talk in Indian women’s tennis after registering a sensational run in an ITF event in Rio, making the semis in singles and ending as runner-up in doubles. She regrets having not competed enough despite “playing better and being fitter than before”, but Riya remains optimistic of her chances in 2023 as she aims for an appearance in the Grand Slams.

Speaking to Hindustan Times in an exclusive interview, Riya, talked about the fourth season of Pro Tennis League, where she is playing for ProVeri Supersmashers, and reflected back on her 2022 season. Here are excerpts…

You have played before in the Pro Tennis League. Talk us through the experience of playing in this format. You were also the highest-bid player in the auction this season.

I first played in 2019 actually. It was my first experience of playing in any league actually and it was amazing and I’m glad to be back this year. Back then, the respective matches in the tie were played in sets, but now the entire format has been changed and every point counts. There are now more matches, including mixed doubles and women’s doubles. I am hoping to perform well in this league and hope our team makes the final.

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Whenever we compete there is pressure, whether I’m the highest-bid player or not, there is always someone who has put money on you, hence there is expectation from you. The highest-bid tag does put more pressure than the others would have but as Billie Jean King said, “Pressure is a privilege” (smiles).

Talk us through the experience of representing India in the Billie Jean Cup? What was talk in the camp after India lost the first two and there were chances that the team might get relegated?

It was an amazing feeling to represent the country and have India written on your back. We did qualify for the World Group, making history for the first time in 2020, so that was an amazing feeling.

Yes that was, but we all were very confident. Even though we were defeated in the first two ties, we played very close matches against some of the very experienced players so we were all higher ranked than us. We knew we were all playing very well. We just knew we had to keep performing and not worry about the results which helped in the end.

The other highlight of 2022 has got to be that tournament in Rio. Everything happened at the last moment for you. But then a semi-final run in singles and final in doubles.

Rio was definitely an end-of-the-moment plan. I just decided to be there because it was a clay-court event and that’s my favourite surface and it was a slow clay court. It was also my first time going to Brazil and I really enjoyed playing there in that court and in that weather. I think I was having a great time even off the court, with some good food, and that definitely helped me on the court. So overall I was really happy to play in Rio and I look forward to playing in other tournaments as well.

Then you had the experience of playing in a WTA event at home. What was the feeling like?

My preparations were pretty good for the tournament but unfortunately I got flu the day before the match and that was the bummer part and hence I could not compete at my best in the singles. But I would really like to thank them for hosting such tournaments. Then I had a wildcard in doubles as well and me and my partner had an amazing match there. However, we couldn’t turn it around but it was an amazing experience.

I would definitely say we need more WTA tournaments. As you can see China and France and the other countries who have suddenly improved so much, having bigger tournaments gives you more exposure and there are better players you get to see. At the moment the more tournaments we have…I mean it doesn’t matter if we have the WTA events or the ITFs, more tournaments in India is the key for the players to go ahead. Because it is very expensive to travel abroad all the time with the tournament and playing in front of the home crowd is always an added bonus for us and we would prefer that.

Overall, what has been your assessment of your performance in this season?

This year I couldn’t compete in as many tournaments as I wanted, so that was definitely lacking. I did play well this year but just didn’t compete enough, as I had some problems here and there. But in 2023 that would be my first goal, to compete in more tournaments, to get at least 25 to 30 weeks of tournaments. I am playing better than I was before and feeling fitter.

Any target in particular, you have in mind, for the 2023 season?

I would definitely want to play in the Grand Slams. I think it’s long due.