PANAJI
What an impressive debut it has been for Asuntha Fleming. Participating in the Bandodkar Panjim Gymkhana Tennis Open 2025 for the very first time, Miramar girl Asuntha dominated the women's section like no other player. She won not one, but three titles in her kitty - women's singles, women's doubles and mixed doubles – to make her mark on the Goan tennis circuit.
Extremely satisfied by her performance, Asuntha said, “I have been playing tennis since I was 5 years old. For the last 5 years, I was in the United States on a tennis scholarship. I returned to Goa only last year in July. In fact, this was my first tennis tournament after my return from the US. So, winning it was really an emotional and amazing experience. It was really great. I am really happy about it.”
In fact, Asuntha’s tennis journey started in quite an unusual manner.
“It’s quite a funny story. When I was younger, I had this habit of smacking people,” she laughs.
“So that was a sign for my mom to put me in some racquet sport since you need your hands and a lot of power to hit. That’s how I started playing tennis. I started going to the courts and meeting friends. Slowly, I started liking the sport and then one day decided to play the sport professionally,” she says.
“I originally started playing in Bihar. Then I moved to Goa and started playing here,” says Asuntha.
“At one point, I had to choose between athletics and tennis since I was into track and field as well during my school days. But, as per my coach's advice, I made a clear decision and chose only one sport. I am really happy about it that I decided to play tennis.”
Her journey into the world of competitive tennis began at the age of 16.
“I started playing competitive tennis when I was 16. I played a few junior tournaments in India and a couple of international tournaments, won a few before I decided to move to the United States to enhance my tennis career and play tennis professionally. I got a tennis scholarship and moved to Chowan University in North Carolina where I pursued my Bachelor’s degree in English and Psychology,” she says.
“I played 5 years of college tennis in the United States and also captained the women’s tennis team. I even won the ’Best Sportsperson’ award when I was playing for my college,” says Asuntha with immense pride.
Asuntha currently does not have WTA rankings since she has not played competitive tennis for long. But, she plans to play in WTA tournaments soon. At one point in her career, she was among the top-100 junior players in India.
Injuries are always a big challenge in any sportsperson’s career and Asuntha is no different.
“When I was in college, I tore my ligament and was on crutches for three months. It was a very low moment in my career. I thought I would never play tennis again in my life,” she says.
When not playing tennis, Asuntha likes to do roller skating and writing. "Since I have done BA in English Literature, I just love writing. It is my other passion," she says.
Asuntha considers Rafael Nadal as her role model for his never-say-die attitude as she can relate with him whenever she is playing her tennis matches.
As per Asuntha, the tennis community in Goa is slowly growing. There are more tennis tournaments now than earlier and also the facilities are much better than it was five years ago, she says.
Among her future goals is to play in AITA tournaments and then transition into playing in WTA tournaments and become a top singles female tennis player in India in the near future.
