Sahaja Yamalapalli

International Tennis Player

Journey to Becoming India's No. 1 Tennis Player

Q: Can you share your tennis journey?

Sahaja: I started at the age of 10. My dad was very athletic and wanted me to play a sport for fitness purposes. I loved playing games with balls, like cricket. He took me to the Saroornagar Stadium in Hyderabad, and I saw tennis courts with baskets full of balls. I wanted to play with those balls. And I told my dad I'll join tennis. And then I joined and I just fell in love with the sport and the passion increased day by day.

12 year old Sahaja with her parents

Q: What motivated you to pursue tennis professionally?

Sahaja: We wanted to see where the sport can lead me, career-wise. I didn't think I would become a Grand Slam champion. Like I didn't see myself becoming a professional player, but I wanted to become one. I was willing to do anything to be able to become a professional player or achieve great things in tennis.

 

Q: Can you walk us through your typical training day?

Sahaja: My training day starts at 7:30. So 7:30 to 8:15 would be warm-up, speed, and agility or power depending on the day. And then at 8:15 I get on the court and I play until 10:30. 

Then 11 to 12 I do some kind of gym or yeah, some kind of gym workout and then 1:30 to 3:30 then I go back on court. So that's tennis and fitness done for the day. And then around like, and then I do for an hour of recovery, stretching and all that. And then around 5:30 or 6 I do some kind of mental work for the day.

 

Q: How important is nutrition for your performance on court?

Sahaja: Nutrition is super important. The diet definitely impacts how you feel on and off the court. Because I've, I have a degree in food science in nutrition and I've experimented so many things on myself and I've seen many differences when I eat, eat a particular thing, not just before the match, like before night or 2 days before the match day and how much it can have an impact on, on my body and how it would make me feel.

 

Sahaja: I actually turned into a vegan for a couple of months because I was deficient in some vitamin B's and some vitamin D and all that and my blood cholesterol was a little bit higher. And I was, I've been eating really well for the past a few years and I was really surprised to see my blood results. So I turned into a vegan to completely, avoid anything related to my health. And, I saw so much improvement in my energy throughout the day. I didn't have any energy dips and I was recovering really well.

Sahaja with her ‘Player of the year’ award during her college days in the USA.

Q: Can you elaborate on your mental wellness approach?

Sahaja: So let's say, I play a match, I personally experience, I have certain kind of thoughts that particular match and I try to overcome those. And then next match I have different kind of thoughts. So I feel like it's a continuous journey. I believe it is very important to be aware and overcome it.

 

Q: How has Safe Bee’s nutrition partnership benefited you?

Sahaja: Your products have been really beneficial for me. Because, I told you guys before, like I've looked up so many bars trying to find clean ingredients and without high calories. That was my personal preference. I want low calorie but meet my nutritional needs. And that's when I found out about you guys and the best part you have everything like pre-workout, post-workout and everything is very handy for me.

Rapid fire

Favourite Safe bee bar

The cacao hazelnut bar! That's my fav!.

 

favorite Safe Bee nut butter

My favorite is the Great Indian butter. It tastes amazing. I've made so many people try that butter and they were like, wow, this is good. The taste is authentic, like Indian taste and it has a mix of all the nuts

 

How do you unwind off the court?

Watching movies or TV shows helps me relax. Favorite book... I don't have, I mean, I read a lot of motivational books, but I don't have any favorite.

 

I like to do gym just in general. Even if I weren't playing tennis or any sport, I think I would still be doing weight training as I love weight training.

Sahaja's remarkable journey to becoming India's No. 1 women's tennis player is a shining testament to her unwavering dedication, unrelenting perseverance, and passion for the sport. By prioritizing nutrition, fitness, and mental wellness, she has achieved unparalleled success and inspired our nation.