WITH HIS FLUENT groundstrokes and sharp volleys, Nikshep BR (16) is the newest sensation on Bangalore’s jumping tennis scene. Last October, this early teen was crowned Under-16 national tennis champion at the Fenesta Open National Tennis Championships 2013 of the Delhi Lawn Tennis Association. Nor is this the only trophy on his family’s mantelpiece. Thus far, this promising teenager has bagged 80 titles.

The elder of two siblings of B.K. Ravikumar, a self-employed civil engineer, and homemaker B.G. Shobha, Nikshep is a class XI commerce student at Bangalore’s Surana College. “As I train in Delhi and also travel to play tournaments across the country, the college management has considerately waived my attendance and allowed me to write exams. Class notes and updates are routinely mailed to me while I am on tour,” he acknowledges.

Nikshep’s interest in tennis was aroused at age six when he watched the men’s final of the televised French Open in 2004. Under the discerning eye of coaches Joseph and Subhash Das of the Bangalore-based Subhash’s Tennis Academy, he played his first state tournament at age nine in 2007 and won his maiden Karnataka Under-10 title. Subsequently, he won the national Under-10 (2008), Under-12 (2010) and Under-14 (2012) titles.

Since 2012, Nikshep has been training under coach Aditya Sachdeva at the top-ranked Team Tennis Academy, New Delhi. However spiraling costs of coaching and training — which often rise to as high as Rs.50,000 per month — are a cloud on this young ace’s horizon. “I am very grateful to GoSports Foundation which covers some of my expenses and the Austria-based sportswear company Head which pays for my equipment and apparel,” says Nikshep.

This year he is determined to break into the International Tennis Federation (ITF)-100 junior rankings. “I am already in the Indian Junior Davis Cup team and hope to raise my game in preparation for several junior Grand Slams in 2015-16,” he enthuses.

Sock it to ’em, Bro!

Paromita Sengupta (Bangalore)