Isharani Baruah was trailing 21-12, 10-6 against Tanvi Sharma in Round 1 of the French Open. The spunky Assamese likes to play from the back court with her jump smashes, that can get her a bulk of the points.
But she was summoned to the front court as Tanvi parked herself there committing to a net battle. Isharani had sent back two impressive defensive returns – one on the far backhand corner and then digging out a reflex flick parrying a body smash that went over the net and tippled.
Tanvi picked the dip somehow as Isharani sprung forward and sent a high hairpin tumble that dangled like a lollipop — the easiest putaways, if only Isharani had thought it through quickly. But of all the places on the court the young shuttler could’ve sent it back to, she chose to offer it on a platter to Tanvi’s racquet. The World No 21 didn’t miss a beat, and pushed it to the midcourt.
Isharani was stunned from being passed like that and gave Tanvi the next 4 points easily. But it was emblematic of why the 22-year-old is stranded between World Rank 40 and 39 for six months, and unable to move up. The net-game is stuck, and refuses to buffer.
A 21-12, 21-12 loss to her compatriot was yet another instance of how the game has promise but can’t show up consistently, because of lacunae in her court craft. Isharani, on the face of it, has everything: a good power attack with a jump smashes, though the placement isn’t always particularly thought out. She has speed, defensive rigour, some very good drops that caught Tanvi on her lunge. But she often appears confused about shot selection or rally construction. And at the net, she’s a deer in headlights.
The net is where India’s womens singles needs maximum upgrades, because there’s both technical-tactical and psychological aspects to it. Both Unnati Hooda and Tanvi Sharma have gotten stronger at the net – Tanvi far more a natural – and can hold their own on the front court, though they are nowhere close to the variations and flat game they can deploy as a holding weapon in the rally.
Tanvi comfortably piled on the pressure on Isharani knowing she could catch her on the front court while she needed to only contend with the occasional attacks zipping out from the leaping smashes of Isharani. The Assamese is no one-trick pony, she can use her court coverage and overhead receptions to find winners. But the rally construction isn’t evolved yet, and it’s allowing younger players to leapfrog her in the jostle that is India’s womens singles.
Isharani had twice beaten Tanvi before (H2H 2-1 now), once at the Telangana International when she was on the uptick and the opponent still 15, and then last year. But while Tanvi’s game was getting better progressively, Isharani seems to have plateaued. Her front court game is letting her down,and the rankings — Tanvi at World No 21 and Isharani at No 39 accurately depicts the turning of tables.