Ex-tennis star Isha Lakhani finds second calling in pickleball, wins gold in WC event

Mumbai: It is not easy to take up a new sport at the age of 37 but what is extremely difficult is to win a World Championship medal in the new sport at the age of 39.

India's former woman tennis star Isha Lakhani achieved that historic feat when she won a gold medal in the 35+ Women's Doubles in the Bali Leg of the World Pickleball Championship earlier this month.

Isha, the All-India Pickleball Association (AIPA)-backed athlete, paired up with Vrushali to win a gold medal in 35+ Women's Doubles. It was quite a successful campaign for India as Vanshik Kapadia won gold in men's singles.

"The sport is growing in a very big way and we are getting to travel a lot, so we are getting a lot of exposure again, thanks to All India Pickleball Association, who's been our association and really taking us out and, you know, helping us in all ways," Isha Lakhani told IANS in an exclusive interview after winning her first gold medal in the World Championship.

Isha has high hopes for the growth of pickleball in India. The proof of India's growing stature in pickleball was evident in Bali during the World Pickleball Championship as the duo of Vrushali and Vanshik clinched silver in the mixed doubles. In the fiercely-contested Team Event, India bagged the prestigious gold medal in a format that included two in men’s doubles, one in mixed doubles, and one in women’s doubles section.

And Isha was at the forefront of this campaign as the most experienced sportsperson in the team having played international tennis for more than a decade, winning four ITF Singles titles and seven in doubles. She had a peak singles ranking of No.291 in singles and No.371 in doubles in December 2008.

So, what made Isha shift to pickleball, around a decade after ending her career playing tennis and having taken up coaching?

Isha says she took up the sport at the urging of a friend, who had used to play tennis and there were pickleball courts right next to her tennis club. "So she was like, 'Why don't you try? Why don't you just go and play? It looks to be a nice sport. You will like it, you'll enjoy it. So I just listened to her and I went to play," said Isha.

What attracted Isha to pickleball is the similarities with tennis. Though the pickleball court is smaller than a tennis court as is the net and the game is played around the net unlike tennis which is played from back court, some of the strokes are similar. It was easier for Isha to take to it because of her muscle memory of playing tennis for years.

So, now that the 39-year-old Mumbai-born player chosen pickleball, for how long will her second innings last? Claiming that age is just a number, Isha says she can easily play it for the next eight to nine years.

She lists some prime examples as her inspiration for dreaming of playing pickleball in her late 40s.

"Honestly speaking, there is no age in this spot. It is really, really possible for me to play for another eight to nine years easily. To be honest, I feel I can do so because there are so many international players, like Megan Fudge, who is of my age and doing so well in the US circuit. There's Susanna Burr (Another American player)She is 49 and she's playing the PPA tour. So these are just two names that I gave you and, you know, they are really, really good.

"So until and unless your body is supporting for sure, it's doable for in any age category to play pickleball. Plus, this sport has so many age categories, like 35 open, 35 plus, I think 50 plus. So, talking about me playing professionally, yes, I feel another seven to eight years is doable," said Isha.

Though it was the slowness of pickleball as compared to tennis that helped Isha Lakhani take up the sport, the former tennis said the sport has grown and it is the unique rules that make it not an easy sport to master.

Now that she has achieved so much success in pickleball, which is considered the fastest growing sport in the United States, Isha is hoping to reap more success and inspire the next generation of players to follow in her footsteps and take up the sport.

With the AIPA supporting them, Isha has high hopes for pickleball.

"So what you look forward to while playing (pickleball) is the exposure, the training, the programme is something that we are looking for, all of us, you know, just being at it again and again," she said.

Having been there and done that, Isha, who says she said her final goodbye to tennis a decade ago, advises youngsters taking up pickleball to be motivated, train nicely, and have a proper regime.

"But, you know, at the same time it's such an addictive sport that I would recommend that players don't burn themselves because so many times you just tend to get on the court and you're not able to come out of, come out of it for at least three or four hours.

"I would say that think through, train sensibly and yeah, take it as a career because it is a very upcoming sport."