Somdev Kishore Devvarman (born 13 February 1985) is an Indian former professional tennis player. He won the American college singles championship two years running, reached a career-high ranking of 62 in the world, and in 2010 won the singles gold medals at both the Commonwealth Games and the Asian Games. Born in Assam to a family from Tripura, he is the most successful sportsman to come from that state.
Quick Facts
| Full name | Somdev Kishore Devvarman |
| Born | 13 February 1985, Guwahati, Assam |
| Age | 41 |
| State | Tripura |
| Sport | Tennis |
| Education | University of Virginia (sociology, 2008) |
| Turned professional | 2008 |
| Retired | 2017 |
| Career-high ranking | No. 62 in singles (2011) |
| Major honours | Commonwealth Games gold (2010); Asian Games gold in singles and doubles (2010); NCAA singles champion (2007, 2008) |
| Awards | Arjuna Award (2011), Padma Shri (2018) |
Early Life
He was born in Guwahati, where his father, Pravanjan Dev Varman, an officer of the income tax service, was posted. The family are Tripuris and belong to a branch of the former royal house of Tripura. He spent his early childhood in Agartala and Calcutta, and when he was about eight the family moved to Madras.
He began playing tennis there at nine and trained at the academy associated with the Amritraj family, which had earlier produced Leander Paes.
College Tennis
In 2004 he went to the University of Virginia in the United States. College tennis gave him four years of matches and physical training that Indian juniors rarely had.
- **2006:** runner-up in the national collegiate singles championship
- **2007:** champion, beating the top seed, John Isner, in the final
- **2008:** champion again, finishing his last season with forty-four wins and one defeat
Only a handful of players have reached three consecutive finals of the event. He graduated in sociology in 2008.
Professional Career
Rise
He turned professional in mid-2008. In January 2009, playing in his home city as a wild card, he reached the final of the Chennai Open, beating two players ranked in the world’s top fifty on the way. In 2011 he reached a second tour final, at Johannesburg, and in July that year rose to number 62, the highest ranking by an Indian singles player in more than a decade.
2010
At the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi in October 2010 he won the men’s singles gold medal, India’s first in tennis at those Games. A month later, at the Asian Games in Guangzhou, he won gold in the singles and, with Sanam Singh, in the doubles.
Style
He was not a big hitter. He won by speed about the court, fitness and persistence, returning ball after ball until his opponents made mistakes, and was known as one of the fittest players on the tour.
Davis Cup
He was India’s leading singles player in the Davis Cup for several years and helped the team win a place in the World Group for 2010.
Injury and retirement
A shoulder injury kept him out for most of 2012. He came back in 2013 to win matches at all four Grand Slam tournaments, but injuries returned. He announced his retirement on 1 January 2017.
After Tennis
He has worked as a television commentator and as a coach and mentor to younger Indian players. He has been a member of official committees on the sport, including a term as a national observer for tennis appointed by the sports ministry, and has been openly critical of the way the game is administered in India. During his playing days he was a leader of the players’ group that pressed the national federation for reforms. He has also supported sport for children in Tripura.
Honours
- Arjuna Award (2011)
- Padma Shri (2018)
Personal Life
He lives in Chennai. He is known for his interest in music and plays the guitar.
Tripura’s other notable names include the gymnast Dipa Karmakar and, from its royal house, the composer S. D. Burman.
Featured image: Somdev Devvarman in the Wimbledon qualifying tournament, 2015. Photo by Diliff, licensed under CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
