Maaya eyes more pro tournaments after maiden title, says transition to senior circuit has just begun

NEW DELHI: India's teenage tennis prospect Maaya Rajeshwaran has announced her arrival on the professional circuit in style, becoming the youngest Indian to win a pro singles title since Sania Mirza with her triumph at the W35 Lagos tournament in Portugal, but the 17-year-old insists this is only the beginning as she sets her sights on playing more senior events.

The 17-year-old, who entered the tournament as a qualifier, defeated Spain's Celia Cervino Ruiz 6-4, 6-2 in Sunday's final to become the youngest Indian to win a professional singles title since Sania Mirza in 2004.

Maaya also claimed the doubles crown alongside Ukraine's Yelyzaveta Kotliar, capping a memorable week in which she did not drop a set in singles.

Her campaign included an opening-round upset of top seed Justina Mikulskyte, ranked 246th in the world.

"This is just sort of a start because it's the first title. And it's a good sign to start off the pro career," Maaya said during a media interaction on Sunday night.

"I don't think this is going to make that big of a deal, because it's just a start. Now it's just a confidence that I've given myself that I can compete better."

The teenager said she was looking forward to playing more professional tournaments, particularly in Europe, as she looks to improve her women's rankings and gain entry into bigger events.

"I haven't played so many tournaments to actually experience that transition on a larger scale. This is one of the very few pro tournaments that I've played in Europe. This is just the start and the plan is to play more pro tournaments," she said.

"For now, I want to get a breakthrough in the rankings in the women's for sure. I'm just going to go and try to give my best, see what happens."

Maaya said the title had also strengthened her belief in her ability to compete at the senior level, where she is still finding her feet.

"One important thing is that I really have to trust myself more, to be more confident in myself. When you deliver at a certain level, when you step on court next time, I just want to feel like I can do it. I can actually do better and I can actually be there," she said.

The youngster also revealed that she changed her training base, leaving the Rafa Nadal Academy in Spain about a month ago to join the Elite Tennis Center (ETC) in the south of France.

She competed in Lagos under the guidance of ETC founder and head coach Jean-René Lisnard.

"In the best interest of me, there were so many things that we thought about. We thought this would be the best option for me. We just did what we felt is going to be good for me," she said about the decision to leave the Nadal academy.

Maaya plans to balance professional events with junior Grand Slams, while devoting the coming months to improving her fitness and making technical adjustments.

"I wanted to compete more. I'm going to take some time to train, to bring in some technical changes, to build more physically, to stay out of injuries and to be agile on court. So, the next few months are going to be focused more on physical improvement," she said.

Despite her breakthrough, Maaya was quick to acknowledge the stature of Mirza, India's former doubles world number one and a trailblazer for the sport in the country.

"I don't think you can actually surpass her because she's a legend and she'll always remain a legend. I still look up to her in a lot of ways because she was my idol when I was growing up in the country and she's someone who's made tennis visible in the country after so many years," she said.

"With Sania, she'll remain a legend and she'll forever be my idol."

Maaya said she had entered the Lagos tournament without expectations and focused on playing her best tennis against a field in which, in her view, every opponent was capable of delivering a strong performance.

"I came in with no expectations. I just went out there, tried to play as good as I can because I was the underdog in this tournament. Overall, I delivered better tennis than my opponents."

The youngster said she had also learned to trust her game more under pressure.

During the final, she tried to relax in the second set by singing to herself, allowing her to stay focused on each point rather than the prospect of winning her first title.

Maaya, who said her performances at the junior Grand Slams had not been as good as she had hoped, intends to keep working towards better results while gradually increasing her exposure to the professional circuit