From a World-class Court to a World-class Campus

When one journey ends, another begins.

I was at a crossroads. Two paths lay before me. One was the tried, tested and comfortable road that I was accustomed to, while the other was filled with uncertainty.

I thought the only thing I knew in life was tennis: How to wake up at 5 AM every morning and go to bed with pain racking my entire body; how to practise my forehand until my shoulder felt as though it would fall off; how to discard my crutches post knee surgery just to get back to the court, and how to travel around the world to unknown places and stand across unknown faces.
But I was wrong. I knew so much more. I knew how to condition myself to win. I knew how to depend on myself when I had no one for support. And above all, I learned the value of self-discipline and mental fortitude.

As I said, I found myself at a crossroads, and this time, instead of choosing the familiar territory, I decided to challenge myself again. But that meant changing who I was and the way I worked. I now face new challenges such as working in a team of people with strong, diverse backgrounds, going through the stress of assignments and exams, dealing with group dynamics, learning to depend on others, and realising that it is not always about me.

To borrow a cliché, “When the going gets tough, the tough get going,” and for me … my journey has only just begun.

About Tejesvi Rao Veerepalli

Tejesvi is a professional tennis player. He is ranked number one in the juniors in India and in the top 100 in the world junior rankings. He had the opportunity to compete in Junior Grand Slams and has played for India in the Juniors. He is currently Chief Coach ata tennis academy focused on producing top-level world and nationally ranked tennis players.

The class of 2014 is extremely proud of Tejesvi and greatly values his passion for sports.