VAIDYANATHAN, NIRUPAMA
India
Born 8 December 1976 in Coimbatore, India
Married Sanjeev Balakrishnan, 23 May 2002
Height: 5 ft 7 in (1.7 m)
Nickname: "Niru"
Plays: RH with 2 handed backhand
[Active 1992-2003 and 2009-2010]
Nirupama was the #1 Indian female player until the advent of Sania Mirza. Starting tennis at age 5, she was encouraged by her father, a former cricket star. Not finding support in her home country, she moved to Luxembourg at age 16 and later based herself in the United States.
When Nirupma reached the 2R at the 1998 Australian Open she became the first native Indian born female to win a singles match in a major. After a 6 year stint off the tour she attempted a brief comeback in 2009-10 without success.
She now lives in San Francisco in the United States and is involved with a local tennis camp. She published her autobiography,
The Moonballer, in 2014.
Singles
Career record: 180 won–155 lost
Career titles: 2 ITF titles (Bad Gogging in 1996 and New Delhi in 2000).
Highest ranking No. 134 (07 July 1997)
[Promotional material for her book The Moonballer]
From a modest background with no sponsors and a self-trained father as her tennis coach, she became India’s no. 1 at 14 years of age. She was the first Indian woman ever to win a round at a Grand Slam (Australian Open 1998) and became the first mother to play for India at the 2010 Commonwealth and Asian Games.
The Moonballer is the first ever book written by an Indian female tennis player.This memoir is refreshingly unique as it keeps tennis as the crux, but weaves in many intricate threads that pertain to women, society, travel, safety and money. Nirupama was the no. 1 woman player for India for over a decade.
At a time when professional tennis for women was unheard of in India, she embarked on a journey with sheer will, determination and talent. She was one of the very few people who played all the top events including Wimbledon as a junior, qualifier, main draw player and a commentator for ESPN/Star.
Sources:
The Moonballer, by Nirupama Vaidyanathan, New Delhi : Konark Publishers, 2013. (252 pages).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nirupama_Sanjeev
http://www.themoonballer.com/
http://www.nirustennis.com/
[Info provided by Jimbo109]