Ramkumar Ramanathan is an Indian professional tennis player. He is the second Indian to reach an ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) Tour singles final in 2018, after Somdev Devvarman in 2011. Ramkumar won a silver medal in the men’s doubles event at the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, China.
Contents
Wiki/Biography
Ramkumar Ramanathan was born on Tuesday, 8 November 1994 (age 29 years; as in 2023) in Chennai, India. Their zodiac sign is Scorpio.
A picture of Ramkumar Ramanathan when he was a child
Ramkumar attended Loyola College, Chennai, where he earned a BA in Economics. Ramkumar has trained at the Sanchez-Casal Academy in Barcelona, Spain.
Physical Appearance
Height: 6′ 2″
Weight: 81 kg
Hair Color: Black
Eye colour: dark brown
Family
parents and siblings
Ramkumar’s father’s name is Ramanathan Kumarappan. His mother’s name is Alagammai Ramanathan. His parents are in the textile business. Ramkumar has a sister named Uma Ramanathan.
Ramkumar Ramanathan with his father Ramanathan Kumarappan and mother Alagammai Ramanathan
Ramkumar Ramanathan with his sister Uma Ramanathan
signature/autograph
Signature of Ramkumar Ramanathan
livelihood
Ramkumar Ramanathan started playing tennis at the age of five. He was introduced to the game by his father. Ramkumar became a professional player in 2009. Ramkumar Ramanathan trained at the Sanchez-Casal Academy in Barcelona, Spain from the age of 15. He has trained under professional Spanish tennis players Juan Balcells and Sergio Casal.
Ramkumar Ramanathan (left) with coach Juan Balcells.
Ramkumar Ramanathan (right) with coach Sergio Casal.
2014-2016
In 2014, Ramkumar qualified for the main draw of the Chennai Open and defeated the then India No. 1, Somdev Devvarman, in the first round. In 2015, Ramkumar began competing in Futures and Challenger level tournaments. In April 2015 he reached his first final round in the doubles match of the Mersin Cup in Turkey with his partner Ricardo Gedín. The pair lost in the final stage. In 2015, he also entered the Malaysian Open as a part of the ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) World Tour and lost to Mikhail Kukushkin in the first round. In 2016, Ramkumar qualified for the Chennai Open. He reached the quarterfinals, his highest ever finish at any ATP World Tour event. In October, he paired with Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan and reached the final of the Vietnam Open Challenger. This pair was the runner up. In 2016, Ramkumar was scheduled to play against Rafael Nadal in the Davis Cup World Group playoffs in India; However, Rafael Nadal withdrew from the game due to a stomach issue.
Ramkumar Ramanathan (right) with Rafael Nadal.
2017
In 2017, Ramkumar Ramanathan achieved a milestone in his tennis career. He reached his first singles Challenger final at the Tallahassee Challenger in April, although he lost to Blaise Rola. However, he had an impressive win at the 2017 Antalya Open in Turkey, defeating then world No. 8 Dominic Thiem in the second round, his first win against a top-10 player. Ramanathan, ranked 222nd in the world at that time, defeated Thiem in straight sets. Talking about his win against the then world No. 8 player, Ramkumar said,
That has been the highlight of my career. There was pressure, but I was really focused. I was serving well and kept myself ahead throughout the match. Maybe I was a little nervous in the first game, but I served really well with two aces and two first serves and held well. After this I did not think that Dominic Thiem was on the other side and I stuck to my plan.
Ramkumar Ramanathan (right) with Dominic Thiem.
He went on to reach the quarterfinals and eventually lost to Marcos Baghdatis. Ramkumar reached another singles Challenger final at the Nielsen Pro Tennis Championships in July 2017 but lost the final. Ramkumar entered the qualifying draw of the US Open, where he won his first round match against Paul-Henri Mathieu, but lost in the second round against Nicolas Mahut, finishing the year with a singles ranking of 148.
2018
In the 2018 season, Ramkumar entered the Maharashtra Open as a wildcard but lost to Marin Cilic in straight sets. He also participated in the Australian Open qualifying rounds but lost and failed to qualify. In April, he reached the Taipei Challenger final but lost to Yuki Bhambri.
Ramkumar Ramanathan (right) with Yuki Bhambri.
In July, Ramanathan reached the ATP Tour final in Newport but lost to Steve Johnson. Ramkumar Somdev was the first Indian to reach an ATP World Tour singles final since Devvarman (who reached the 2011 Johannesburg Open final). He won his first doubles ATP Challenger title with his partner Vijay Sundar Prashant at the Pune Challenger in November. Her 2018 year-end singles ranking was 133rd.
2019-2020
In 2019 and 2020, Ramkumar won doubles titles at the Indian Challengers matches, and at the 2019 Kobe Challenger in Japan with partner Purav Raja.
Ramkumar Ramanathan (left) with Purav Raja after winning the doubles match at the 2019 Kobe Challenger.
Once the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020, things came to a halt. Ramkumar told that initially he spent time with his family and worked on his fitness at home. Talking about the pandemic in an interview, Ramkumar said,
Obviously, we couldn’t play much in 2020. But all the Indian tennis players came together as a group and did one-hour online sessions for 150 days. We started with only seven players and by the time we finished we were about 77 people. We also got a lot of rest. Then, Roland Garros (French Open, 2020) started and I could start playing again. Traveling has been a little difficult, but I’m glad we’re back in business and doing what we love most.”
2021
In 2021, Ramkumar reached the men’s singles qualifying rounds of Wimbledon by winning his opening matches, but lost by a narrow margin to Mark Polmans in a five-set tiebreaker, missing out on qualifying. She made her Grand Slam main draw debut in the mixed doubles, partnering Ankita Raina after a last-minute entry due to withdrawal. Their first match marked the first All-India Grand Slam match. The pair was defeated by the Indian team of Rohan Bopanna and Sania Mirza in straight sets.
Ramkumar Ramanathan and Ankita Raina (right side of the court) after the match with Rohan Bopanna and Sania Mirza.
Ramkumar also won his first singles Challenger title by defeating Evgeny Karlovsky in straight sets at the Manama Challenger in Bahrain.
Ramkumar Ramanathan clinches his first singles Challenger title after winning the Manama Challenger in Bahrain
He reached the quarterfinals of the 2021 Antalya Challenger III in singles and the semifinals in doubles with his partner Vladislav Orlov.
2022
In early 2022, Ramkumar Ramanathan, along with his partner Rohan Bopanna, captured his first ATP Tour title in Adelaide, where they defeated top seeds Ivan Dodig and Marcelo Melo in the final. This was his first ATP Tour title. He then won his second ATP title at the Maharashtra Open with his partner Rohan Bopanna. The win saw him enter the ATP top 100 doubles rankings with a ranking of world No. 94. Although he suffered a three-set singles defeat to Max Purcell in the first round of the 2022 Bengaluru Open, he won the doubles title. Saket Myneni. Ramkumar and Saketh Myneni made it to the 2022 Dubai Tennis Championships but lost in the first round. In 2022, Ramkumar also led India in the Davis Cup tie against Denmark and won.
2023
Ramkumar Ramanathan finished second in the men’s doubles event at the 2023 Emilia-Romagna Open with his partner Luca Margaroli of Switzerland.
Ramkumar Ramanathan (right) and Luca Margaroli after winning the 2023 Emilia-Romagna Open
Ramkumar won a silver medal in the men’s doubles event partnering Saketh Myneni for the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, China.
Great news, thanks to our tennis players. Congratulations to our men’s doubles pair @ramkumar1994 And @SakethMyneni On winning silver medal in Asian Games. Their extraordinary teamwork has amazed us all. My best wishes for his upcoming endeavours. pic.twitter.com/aA8dnIpoWK
-Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) 29 September 2023
After winning the medal, Ramkumar said in an interview,
Oh man, I mean, it’s my first medal. We play for moments like these. We work hard to get here. This moment, you can’t buy it. And it happens when you least expect it. If you keep working hard, things will happen. Of course, this (medal) is a lovely reward for him. For all those hard days. For all those days when you didn’t want to go to court. For all those long days in Spain. No one can beat it.”
As of November 2023, Ramkumar Ramanathan has a singles ranking of No. 557 in the ATP World Rankings. As of November 2023, her doubles ranking is at number 187.
medal
silver
2023: Men’s doubles event with partner Saketh Myneni at the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, China.
Ramkumar Ramanathan (left) and Saketh Myneni pose with the silver medals won at the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, China
Awards and Honors
- Ramkumar Ramanathan received the Young Achievers Award from the Rotary Club of Madras East in 2012.
- Ramkumar Ramanathan won the TK Ramanathan Award for representing India in the Davis Cup during the Tamil Nadu Tennis Association’s annual day in 2015.
Ramkumar Ramanathan (left) receiving the TK Ramanathan Award in 2015
- Ramkumar Ramanathan was honored for his victory at the 2021 ATP Challenger tournament in Manama, Bahrain and his top ranking position in the Indian men’s singles in 2021 by the AMPA Group.
Ramkumar Ramanathan (second from left) being honored by AMPA Group in 2021
Facts/General Knowledge
- Ramkumar is called Ramkumar ‘The Flash’ Ramanathan.
- Ramkumar Ramanathan can speak Tamil, English and Spanish.
- Ramkumar Ramanathan likes to play on grass courts. He likes them because they help with speed, which allows him to use his favorite tactic of serve-and-volley.
Ramkumar Ramanathan playing on grass court in Newport
Categories: Biography
Source: vcmp.edu.vn