Is there hope beyond Sania?

Not right away, no, say industry watchers, but there are a few youngsters out there who bear watching.

The early history of Indian tennis was dominated by two dynasties "" the Krishnans and the Amritrajs. Ramanathan Krishnan started it all, and his son Ramesh followed in his footsteps. Pretty much the same can be said for the Amritraj brothers, Anand and Vijay.

Although Vijay was the more prolific, Anand too made a name for himself. In the last decade, Leander Paes took Indian tennis to greater heights individually, and when he joined hands with Mahesh Bhupathi, the duo was unstoppable.

Sadly, the partnership hasn't worked out, but when they did play together they were the most feared doubles team in the world. But ever since, there has been a lull.

Sania Mirza caught the nation's attention but has had an indifferent 2006, and doubts about her consistency leave a question mark about her future. So who are the new kids on the block who represent the future of Indian tennis? Is there enough talent coming up after Lee-Hesh and little bit of Sania mania?

"One needs to understand that the right age to hone your skills in tennis is the 14-18 group," says Anirban Das Blah, vice president, Globosport. And Blah, who has been keeping an eye out for promising youngsters in that age group, has trained his sights on 16-year-old Aakash Wagh from Pune and 14-year-old Kyra Shroff in girls tennis.

Globosport has seven tennis academies in the country and Blah feels that these two are the finest singles talent since Leander Paes and Sania Mirza.

Kyra Shroff, who is a juvenile diabetic, became the youngest under-18 national championship winner and is being trained by former Indian tennis player Gaurav Natekar.

"She has fantastic ability and if she remains on track, has the potential to be in the top 50 or maybe higher," says Natekar, who represented India in several Davis Cup ties and heads the academies run by Globosport.

The names of Rohan Bopanna, Prakash Amritraj, Harsh Mankad and Sana Bhambri keep popping up on tennis courts. But Blah feels they no longer have the benefit of age. "They are talented players but age is not on their side."

Blah is right. Bopanna is 25. Amritraj is 23. "They can still do good for the country and play the Davis Cup for India, but if we talk about the real future of Indian tennis then we have to look at kids under 18," adds Natekar.

Aakash Wagh is another special talent, according to Natekar. He was handpicked by Bhupathi for his academy and since then has grown from strength to strength.

He is being sent to play tournaments in countries like Italy, Spain and Sweden and has been doing great there. "He has amazing court coverage and a giant serve, and has attitude and age on his side," says Natekar.

Colonel R M Sharma, executive director, Asian Tennis Federation, who also looks after the All India Tennis Association academies, agrees with Natekar and Blah.

"While the present hopes might be dependent on Prakash and Rohan, one can't classify them as the future." He says that Prerna Bhambri is another fantastic talent in the making. "She has risen through the ranks and has the potential to do well for the country on the international stage."

Balu Nair, managing director, IMG/TWI, feels that calling world class players to India could become a motivational factor. "If a nine-year-old sees Rafael Nadal playing in his town, he will be spurred on to take up tennis."

According to him, Tara Iyer is another girl who has received rave reviews on the junior tennis circuit. "She moves well on court but her problem is consistency, which will improve with experience."

Natekar feels that India will have to wait a couple of years before it sees world class tennis players. "We are a bit far from producing a great tennis player." He blames the infrastructure and lack of motivation for kids to take up tennis.

"If Sania hadn't burst on the scene, I doubt whether we would be talking about the future of Indian tennis." But that is not enough, says Blah. "We should support the kids all the way if we want a future champion in tennis, but, honestly, we need to catch'em young and nurture them."

Sharma says it is not as if the tennis association is not doing anything. "We have an excellent junior training programme in place, and the participation of kids has doubled in the last couple of years."

But will Indian tennis be able to serve up a few aces, or is there no hope beyond Sania? Wait and watch "" and keep your fingers crossed!

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TENNIS ROLL-CALL

Kyra Shroff "" 14 years
U-18 singles champion; U-14 singles champion; U-18 doubles champion with Kelsey Sundaram

Aakash Wagh "" 16 years
U-18 national singles champion; semi-finalist in Mercedes Cup (Bangkok), ITF Challenger for Juniors; U-16 doubles champion with Varun Gunasheelan

Tara Iyer "" 18 years
Represented India in the Junior Fed Cup for two years and qualified for the final playoffs in Europe; ranked 45 in ITF (International Tennis Federation) Juniors; ranked number one in Indian U-18; reached second round in Junior Grand Slams: US Open, French Open and Wimbledon

Prerna Bhambri "" 14 years
U-14 champion in 2005; reached QF of U-14 Federation Cup; U-18 quarter finalist in singles; U-18 doubles semi-finalist