Vishal Uppal (R) during Team India training ahead of the 2026 BJK Cup Asia/Oceania Group 1 play-off. (Instagram) NEW DELHI: When the Indian team takes to the court at the Delhi Lawn Tennis Association (DLTA) complex on April 7 to compete in the Asia/Oceania Group 1 of the Billie Jean King Cup, former player Vishal Uppal will be cheering them on from the sidelines.Uppal has fronted the Indian team twice – first from 2019 to 2023 and then again from 2025.
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India’s BJK Cup team on tour loneliness, street food and social media abuseThe 49-year-old represented the country twice in the Davis Cup, in 2000 and 2002. Now he has turned his professional education into a non-playing captain.“It’s a big difference. If I’ve played tennis before, at a competitive level, I know the ups and downs a player goes through, what’s going on in his mind, of course you can look at your opponent and tactically see what changes you need to make,” he told TimesofIndia.com on what makes the former player vital to the team’s competition.
In competition, technique pretty much goes out the window. It’s your head, it’s your mentality. So you can only pick up on these finer nuances if you’ve played at a certain level. And if you haven’t played at a certain level, you won’t pick it up.
Vishal Uppal
“You can look at your own player and say this is what you need, we’ve got to get behind them and get them energized. There’s only so much you can look at when you’re coached that way. And if you’re not coached that way, the layman always goes to, say, when a player makes a mistake, the layman always goes to the technical.”“But in competition, technique pretty much goes out the window. It’s your head, it’s your mentality. So you can only pick up on those finer nuances if you’ve played at a certain level. And if you haven’t played at a certain level, you don’t get it. “There’s so much pressure. There’s a privilege, people are looking at you, people are judging you. You know, the passion, the pride you have to feel when you’re representing your country. Whether it’s here, whether it’s overseas, you have to have a sense of pride. And I think from a younger age, if we can start helping kids understand that, then I think by the time they come, they’ll be more prepared for that level. I’m impressed,” continued Uppal, who in 2005 he was as high as 488th in the world.
Vishal Uppal (back) during Team India training ahead of the 2026 BJK Cup Asia/Oceania Group 1 play-off. (Instagram)
He and the Indian team face a daunting challenge when they take on New Zealand, Korea, Indonesia, Mongolia and Thailand in a round robin format in the coming week.If they can overcome this hurdle, India will qualify for the play-offs for the second time in a row and the third time since 2020. But Uppal and his team are taking nothing for granted.
I already have my strategy, against which team, what we’re going to do, and you know, except for a few surprises that we really can’t cover. But otherwise yes, we will only focus on our own preparation and when the day of the match comes, our plans will be in place.
Vishal Uppal
“It’s a very tough group. All the teams in the group are pretty good and you know Mongolia also did great to qualify for Group 1, which is the best group in Asia. So yes, I expect a tough battle. I expect everyone to work really hard and Team India will be ready to fight hard,” Uppal said as he watched India train on a light day with Zeel Desai, Ankita Rainaal and Rutuja.“New Zealand are great. Indonesia is extremely tough. I already have my strategy, against which team, what we’re going to do and you know, apart from a few surprises that we can’t really cover. But other than that, yeah, we’re just going to focus on our own preparation and come match day, our plans will be in place,” he continued.
File photo of Vishal Uppal, former Indian tennis player and current non-playing captain of the BJK Indian cup team. (Instagram)
For Uppal, the current BJK Cup team and the week ahead is a stepping stone in what he wishes to create with the women’s team. He emphasized that if a culture is to be built, it is important to focus on a group of players rather than a selection of individuals.“We’ve qualified for the (BJK Cup) play-offs twice in the last five years, which we’ve never done before 2020. We’ve never done that in 42 years. It obviously shows you that the depth of women’s tennis is improving. The way to balance that, I think, is to try and provide opportunities for a bigger group of people to play internationals in India and to make sure they’re filling internationals or just training. two players, I think when if we start really focusing on, say, 50, 75, 100 players, then the cream will rise to the top.
Ankita Raina during training for the BJK Cup.
“We have to do strategic planning, even with tournaments. Obviously now we’ve started doing a lot more W15s, which I think really helps the 15, 16, 17-year-old girls get international competition under their belt and get some exposure.”“So it has to be strategic planning. All stakeholders in tennis come together and work together as a team and see how we can develop and raise the level of tennis in India,” he said.
