“Tennis is a perfect combination of violent action taking place in an atmosphere of total tranquility.” –Billie Jean King

Time and again, we are reminded of how precise and well placed King’s words were, just like her game. Thousands of budding tennis players around the world are trying to recreate her magic, or, at the least, get close to it. Four such women and nine men are wearing the name ‘BITS Pilani’ on their jerseys.

But like any other sports team in India, this team has a lot more to worry about than just the sport. The boys’ team wasn’t the happiest sight around, initially, as its members stepped off the court after sweating out an evening’s practice. ‘We’ve been asking for lights for two BOSMs now,’ said Siddharth Tripathi, the boys’ team captain, while the team looked for a lost ball with the torchlight from their phones.

Playing the ultimate juggler in an attempt to manage academics, co-curricular activities and tennis, girls’ team captain Aishwarya Sharma is trying her best to be the role model, coach and mentor her juniors on the team deserve to have, and when asked about it, Akanshya, the newest addition to the girls’ team, revealed that the captain was doing a very good job with that.

It is interesting to see how teams across sports have a strong opinion about the importance of full-time coaches. While content with the quality of the people, including the fresh blood, the team does want more coaching and equipment. With the coach generally arriving only fifteen days before BOSM, he can only make minor improvements to their game. Aishwarya says that bringing coaches in just before the fest helps them in playing style, but the consistency and fitness of players continue to be an unaddressed issue. On the other hand, full-time coaches can not only train the team, but can also conduct classes for those who want to learn the game for the first time, giving a lot of BITSians the opportunity to learn something new.

That being said, the teams seemed quite optimistic about BOSM. ‘Our major competitors have only been a couple of DU colleges whose teams are made up of sports quota students,’ said Shubhankar, a team member, fairly confidently. ‘We can handle teams from technical colleges well enough,’ adds Achal, another member. The girls’ team will also be looking towards improving their record, and playing their hearts out to convert last year’s silver into a gold.

We wish the teams the best of luck as they head for the courts this BOSM!