Playing tennis as part of a team, with endless cheers from team mates to build your confidence around, is a stark contrast to the closed-in life of a professional. But even for all its competitiveness, college tennis is simply a step-up to the pro circuit and not an end in itself. Tara Iyer, who graduated from Duke University in August, had been looking forward to restarting the search for ranking points on the ITF circuit from 2009, but will now have to wait till January as she recovers from a knee injury.

“I plan to start playing as soon as I can handle the rigorous load of tournament tennis, and as of now, January 2010 is what I’m looking at. I have been doing rehab on my knee so as to be totally fit on my return,” Tara told Sportline from Maryland, US.

Tara, 21, left college as Magna cum Laude with High distinction in Economics, but couldn’t contribute much to No.1 ranked Duke’s NCAA title-winning run this season. The last time she played a tournament, apart from a few scattered matches this year, was at the ITA All-American tournament last October. When she does return, the time spent away from tennis will be considerable, but the Indian is unfazed by the challenge. “I am excited to return. Now my focus is back on court. I intend to relax and have fun. Also, I haven’t been to India since 2008, so I’m looking forward to visiting soon,” she said.

The summer of 2007, when Tara won herself a string of ITF titles, got a place on the Indian Fed Cup team, and was the centre of attention at a number of felicitation ceremonies to mark her steady rise, now seems in distant memory, but she appears confident she can bring it all back.

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