Aaddi Gupta

For Addii Gupta, the beginning of tennis never felt like a dream.

She started playing at ProStar Academy around the age of 12 or 13, largely because her father wanted her to. For him, sport was never optional, and in Addii’s case, tennis became the path chosen for her very early.

At the time, she did not enjoy it.

In fact, she describes the relationship as a “hate hate relationship” with the sport.

School was the environment that made sense to her. Sitting in class, learning, preparing for exams, writing tests, that world felt natural. Tennis represented the opposite. Leaving school early, missing lectures, compromising on academics, and constantly feeling pulled away from something she genuinely cared about.

Even then, she knew she leaned more toward academics than sport.

Over time, that lifestyle created a quiet sense of isolation. The rhythm of her life looked completely different from everyone around her. While most people her age were building social circles and experiencing a normal school life, hers revolved around training schedules, missed classes, and expectations she never fully connected with emotionally.

At that stage, tennis was not something she loved.

It was simply something she felt she had to do.

Everything shifted in 2018.

At fifteen, Addii moved to Spain.

The decision again came from her father — a performance driven move focused on exposure, stronger competition, and better opportunities. But for Addii, the move carried another emotion alongside ambition:

Relief.

For the first time, there was distance from the constant tension she had started associating with tennis and expectation.

She moved immediately and did not return to India for nearly a year.The adjustment was difficult in every sense.

A new country.

A completely unfamiliar environment.

Different routines.

Different people.

Different pressures.

Both mentally and physically, everything took time.

Improvement did not arrive quickly. It took almost a full year before she felt stable again, before the environment stopped feeling emotionally overwhelming and daily life started finding rhythm.

Her mother helped her navigate the geography and transition, but much of that phase was still something Addii had to push through internally on her own.

And somewhere during that long adjustment period, something quietly changed.

For the first time, tennis started feeling like something she could choose.

Not something that had simply been chosen for her.

That difference changed the relationship completely

Today, Addii’s life revolves around a routine built entirely around the sport.

An ideal day starts early. Preparing meals. Driving to training. Hours on court. Gym sessions, Recovery. Then finally returning home at the end of the day.

The structure is demanding, repetitive, and physically exhausting, but over time it has become familiar. In many ways, routine itself has become a source of stability.

Outside that structure, one of the most important parts of her life has become the ability to disconnect from tennis completely.

Sometimes she spends time at her boyfriend’s place after training, and that outlet has become deeply important to her because it allows life to feel normal again for a while.

Her mother returned to India four months ago, and since then that emotional balance has mattered even more.

She says her boyfriend has helped her significantly. And in many ways, the reason is simple: He knows nothing about tennis.

That distance from the sport allows her to step away temporarily from rankings, results, schedules, and expectations. When they spend time together, life becomes simpler again. They eat together, train together, go to the gym together, and for a few hours, tennis stops feeling all consuming.

For the first time in a long time, she feels like she has an identity outside the sport.

But professional tennis still comes with instability.

Travel schedules constantly change. Tournament plans shift unexpectedly. Weeks blur into airports, matches, recovery sessions, and uncertainty. Over time, that lifestyle becomes mentally exhausting in ways most people outside sport rarely see.

Recently, Addii came very close to burnout again.

For her, burnout feels unmistakable. It is the point where motivation disappears completely. No desire to train. No desire to practise. Even appetite fades.

It can happen during a season, before one begins, or immediately after one ends.

One of the most important things that helped her navigate those phases has been therapy.

She has been in therapy for nearly four years now. Earlier, she depended on it heavily, sometimes speaking to her therapist almost every week. Over time, though, that relationship evolved.

She still talks openly about tennis and personal life, but she now feels far more capable of processing difficult periods independently.

Today, she views mental wellbeing the same way she views physical training.

Not as weakness.

Not as crisis management.

But as a necessary tool for sustaining a career in professional sport.

That perspective has fundamentally changed the way she handles pressure.

Another important phase in Addii’s life came through a program called Residence, where players between the ages of 15 and 18 lived together.

At the time, her mother managed the residence itself. The environment was intense, crowded, and emotionally chaotic.

Addii describes herself as naturally introverted, and despite constantly being surrounded by people, she often felt deeply misunderstood.

Even in shared spaces, she felt alone.

For a long time, that feeling bothered her. Eventually, though, she stopped fighting it.

She began accepting that part of herself instead of trying to change it.

She believes misfits are often misunderstood, and once she stopped resisting that reality, she felt lighter. Less conflicted. More comfortable within her own personality.That acceptance became an important part of her emotional growth, both as an athlete and as a person.

Addii’s journey in tennis has ultimately been built on stubborn persistence.

From starting the sport at thirteen to moving countries at fifteen, she stayed with tennis through every difficult phase, even during periods where walking away would have been easier emotionally.

Today, she stands one point away from earning a professional ranking.

Before reaching that point, she had already gone through 21 main draw attempts. Many athletes would have stepped away long before then.

Addii never did.

She says she has always been stubborn, and she is proud of that quality.

Over time, tennis strengthened her emotionally. Her tolerance for criticism, pressure, and outside noise has increased significantly. She no longer measures progress only through results.

Her mindset today is deeply process oriented.

She constantly wants to become a little better, a little stronger, a little more complete. Complacency does not interest her.

And right now, she believes she is in the strongest place she has ever been mentally.

The goal ahead is simple.

Earn the ranking.

Keep growing.

Continue becoming better both as a player and as a person.