In this episode, I talk with ATP doubles player Rajeev Ram. He is number 15 in the world in doubles right now, and last year reached a career-high of number 5.
When I catch up with him he is in his hotel room in Australia on a 14-day quarantine. He is one of the players who is not allowed to leave his hotel room at all for fourteen days.
We talk about how he manages to train while he is stuck in his hotel room 24/7, and then dive into his career and doubles strategy.
We discuss World Team Tennis, how he got started playing tennis, his time in college playing at Illinois, his pro career, July 10, 2009 when he played four ATP matches in one day, before diving into doubles strategy. I ask him:
- How he game plans before a match.
- How he and Joe Salisbury make in-match adjustments.
- What his biggest strength & weakness is on the doubles court.
- When he likes to use signals vs talking (while serving).
- and a lot more…
Note: Rajeev’s hotel wifi was not great, so you will hear some audio issues. We did our best to edit as much as possible.
Interview Notes from this Podcast
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- Follow Rajeev Ram on Twitter
- Rajeev was one of 72 players on the strict quarantine in Australia
- He played World Team Tennis for the Chicago Smash
- He played tennis in college for Illinois
- On July 10, 2009, Rajeev won four matches in one day at the Hall of Fame Open
- He won the 2020 Australian Open with Joe Salisbury who he will continue playing with for the 2021 season
- Rajeev also played doubles with Raven Klaasen
- Favorite Books
- Tennis Book: Open by Andre Agassi
- Tennis Book: Breaking Back: How I Lost Everything and Won Back My Life by James Blake
- Non-Tennis Book: Long Walk to Freedom: The Autobiography of Nelson Mandela
- Favorite Tournaments