TUTU FROM ASSAM, INDIA

Anirban Baruah playing at Wimbledon 1993

Anirban Baruah was a member of the Britannia Amritraj Tennis Scheme (BAT) back in the 1990’s.  His nickname was Tutu and when I arrived in Madras in 1990 to coach the team he had already been in the team for one year. Tutu was very focused on being a great player and at 15 years old had already gained 5 computer points on the men’s rankings.  Another extremely dedicated player in the team at that time was Leander Paes who is still a top ranked doubles player today.  Together Tutu and Leander would wake at 3:30am and go through a routine of sit-ups and press-ups by candle light, after which they would  return to bed for a brief sleep, before waking again for morning practice at 5:30am.

Tutu had many quirks that made him unique.  He would not eat on Tuesdays, something that caused him physical problems during our training.  But nothing would stop him from giving 100% in every practice session and he was one of the hardest working players I have ever coached. At one tournament in Brunei, Tutu had a particularly long match at the hottest time of the day.  After the match we were walking to the bus for the ride home when Tutu began cramping.  His whole body was locked in a terrible knot and stayed that way for several hours.

This work ethic and determination paid off.  Tutu began to do very well in the ITF tournaments throughout Asia and eventually reached a ranking of 25 in the world.  This meant he could compete in Grand Slams and the first Grand Slam he played was the Australian Open. I was a bit disappointed that he lost in the first round that year and when he returned I asked him what had happened.  He replied that his opponent was very good and began to describe his opponent as a left hander with a pony tail.  He had played Marcelo Rios in the first round but I hadn’t heard of Rios at that time and bluntly told Tutu that in the future he needed to find a way to win.

Our relationship became very close.  I was able to give Tutu tactics for matches knowing that Tutu would follow them to the letter.  A well known story around the junior circuit during that time concerned an ITF trip we both made to Singapore.  After a match I asked Tutu to go for a run on the running track next to the tennis complex.  Much later, when it was time to leave the courts I couldn’t find Tutu.  I looked everywhere and eventually went across to the running track to see if he was still there.  With much effort I was able to spot him still running around the track in the darkness.  I should have known that if I asked Tutu to run I would need to also tell him to stop!

He later gained a tennis scholarship and has since settled in the U.S.  He still calls me from time to time and we talk about our trips together and the matches he played. Tutu was one of those special players whose commitment and willingness to improve inspired me to be a better coach.