Multi-national Malhotra

Her name is Anastasia Malhotra. She was born in Japan to a British father 8212; whose father was an Indian married to a Greek 8212; and Japanese mother, and they decided to keep the Indian surname.

Born to a British father and Japanese mother, Anastasia traces her Indian roots

Her name is Anastasia Malhotra. She was born in Japan to a British father 8212; whose father was an Indian married to a Greek 8212; and Japanese mother, and they decided to keep the Indian surname.

To further the international muddle, the family moved to England just as Anastasia began picking up her tennis skills.

Her surname belies her Indian roots, but actually, this just happens to be the 19-year-old8217;s first visit to the country her grandfather once called home. And the emotional connect appears to be instantaneous. 8220;I love it here,8221; she smiles, casting her eyes around the DLTA complex, where she lost in round one of the 50,000 ITF women8217;s circuit tournament.

8220;I called up my parents today and told them I want to stay on here. I8217;ve heard it gets really hot in the summer, but right now Delhi is very nice,8221; she says.

Early interest
The Malhotras returned to Japan sometime back, but not before developing her interest in the game even further.
8220;I started playing because my father used to play, and my parents have been very encouraging all the way. I was with the Lawn Tennis Association in England. In Japan, the situation isn8217;t very encouraging for a tennis player. We have no national federation, and only recently a centralised coaching centre was established, but it8217;s just for the top five Fed Cup players,8221; says Anastasia.

Good and bad
Staying in England isn8217;t without its bad points, though. 8220;Life is definitely more sheltered in Japan, and there8217;s none of the racism I have to deal with in England. I look different, so I8217;ve faced all that, but the tennis facilities, without a doubt, are much better over there.8221;

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Surname muddle
Apart from her battle against the unwelcome tennis atmosphere in her resident country, Anastasia is involved in a fight with the sport8217;s authorities to retain her surname. 8220;They want me to change it to a Japanese one, but I don8217;t see why I should. I want to keep the surname that I have right now. The fact that I don8217;t play for any tennis club in Japan is also an issue with the people in charge, but I8217;m only thinking about my game.8221;
The 568-ranked player is coached by her father, Roger, and occasionally puts in a few modelling assignments along with her tennis commitments. 8220;It8217;s not a big deal. In Japan, if you don8217;t look totally Japanese, you get a chance to model,8221; she laughs.
The focus, though, is only on improving her tennis. 8220;I8217;ve learnt a lot about different styles of play by living in England and Japan. In Japan, it8217;s mostly baseline play, but in England it8217;s quite different. I may move back to England because I think it8217;ll be better for my tennis, but I8217;m still in two minds right now.8221;

Results: Masa Zec-Peskiric SLO bt Laura Siegemund GER 6-2, 6-2; Emily Webley Smith GBR bt Shalini Sahoo 6-3, 6-0; Anastasiya Vasylyeva UKR bt Miki Miyamura JPN 6-4, 6-3; Monitnee Tangphong THA bt Florence Haring FRA 7-5, 6-7 0, 6-1; Anna Gerasimou GRE bt Marina Melkinova RUS 6-7 5, 6-4, 6-4; Chiaki Okadaue JPN bt Shiho Shihamatsu JPN 6-1, 6-4; Bojana Jovanoskovi SRB bt Parul Goswami 6-1, 6-4; Melanie Klaffner AUT bt Tadeja Majeric SLO 7-5, 6-4; Poojashree Venkatesh bt Shaozhuo Lin CHN 6-2, 6-4; Sandra Zahlavova CZE bt Anastasia Malhotra JPN 6-3, 6-4; Romana Tabakova SVK bt Ganna Piven UKR 6-3, 6-4; Megan Moulton-Levy USA bt Margit Ruutel EST 4-6, 6-4, 6-4.