Vaishnavi & Asmi Adkar promise exciting Sister Act

PUNE: A new ‘Sister Act’ is in the making in Indian tennis.
Vaishnavi and Asmi Adkar come with talent and promise some exciting years ahead.
Vaishanvi, 17, won the National Under-18 clay court title in Chennai last month and Asmi, 14, the U-16 title in Kolhapur in March as well as the U-14 crown last year.
The siblings also finished runners-up in Chennai, in the very first tournament they played together.The duo picked up the racquets because, along with two of their cousins, they were a constant menace at home and their parents wanted them to channelise their energy. “My mom (Gauri) loves tennis and is a fan of Steffi (Graf),” Vaishnavi said.
But the sisters have little in common in terms of their game, and their careers have followed divergent paths. Whereas Vaishnavi has an aggressive game, Asmi is more crafty, according to their coach Kedar Shah.
“A lot of times, kids get rebellious. But Vaishnavi knows her goals, she has accepted them, other aspects (of life) can wait,” Shah said. “She is extremely disciplined, goal-oriented, and has the drive to pursue the game to the highest level, the will to work hard.
“It is the same with Asmi — three years younger, but mature than her sister. It usually happens with second siblings, they watch their elders and learn.”
In the process of making the transition to women’s pro circuit, Vaishnavi has already dealt with some obstacles. The teenager was getting set to play her first full season in the ITF Juniors circuit when the pandemic came.
She won the finals of the Roland Garros Rendez-Vous talent hunt event in February 2020 and was looking forward to playing in the main draw of the clay court junior grand slam, but a positive test prior to her departure dashed her dreams.
“She was demotivated, but this setback made her stronger, made her work harder,” the coach said.
When Vaishnavi returned to action in February last year, she won a Grade 5 event in Indore, but “unfortunately she twisted her knee there and had an ACL tear” at a subsequent tournament in Chandigarh.
That put her out of action for almost the rest of the season.
“I lost a lot of time. I was pretty upset. It was very frustrating,” said Vaishnavi. “I wanted to come in the top-100 (in juniors) by 2021, so that I could play junior grand slams this year. But I lost 10 months, and things did not go according to plan.”
Again, she showed her mettle on return — winning a G5 title in Guwahati and reaching the finals in Delhi and Pune to close the 2021 season on a high.
Eager to make for her lost time, Shah took her to Europe at the start of this season.
“I wanted her to experience European clay. I think Asia is good for ITF (juniors) but not for men’s and women’s pro circuit,” he said.
Vaishnavi reached the semifinals of a G2 event and made early exits in two other events.
“It was a great learning experience and eye opener for her. When we came back she said, ‘our game is there, where we are lacking is fitness’,” Shah said.
The Chennai win then came when she was in her best form.
“It was good to win the nationals. I was pretty confident of doing well. The goal was to win the title,” said Vaishnavi. “I had to play two matches a day, and on one day three matches. But I was focused and kept up the intensity.”
For Asmi, the doubles streak in Chennai — reaching the final of the Nationals with her sister and winning the title of a G4 event the following week with Saina Deshpande — came as a big boost with a pleasant surprise.
“Me and doubles don’t have a good relationship,” she said. “I surprised myself because I have never lost in singles and done well in doubles. It is usually the other way around.”
Although the Adkars, supported by Lakshya and MSLTA, were playing together for the first time, they knew each other’s game.
“Previously, I have not hit it off with partners. This time I was confident with my partner. I believed in her, knew that she would carry me,” Asmi said. “I have a very different game. She plays fast, I learnt to play fast with her.”
One thing helped for sure.
“I usually play on the forehand side,” Asmi said.
Vaishnavi chipped in: “I play on the backhand side, so it worked out pretty well.”