We caught up with Ahmad Murbarak, ex-national tennis player in Singapore. Having played in the local and regional scene for almost 15 years, we asked him what he thought of the local scene and to share his experience playing for country. In addition, we asked him how the tennis scene in Singapore could be improved. Read what he has to say, right here on VOXSPORTS!
1) Please kindly introduce yourself to our VOXers
My name is Ahmad Mubarak and I am currently a final year student in NTU studying business. I also play tennis for the NTU tennis team and have been playing for NTU since my first year. Besides playing for NTU, I also play tennis for my hall and my Business faculty.
2) Please summarise your playing career for us
I was first introduced to tennis at a young age of 5, by my father who is a professional tennis coach. I have never looked back since. I have been playing competitive tennis for over 15 years now and have competed in many tournaments both within Singapore and also abroad in countries such as Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand. Now I teach tennis to aspiring tennis players and hopefully am able to pass my knowledge to my students.
3) How do you find the standard of tennis in NTU?
The standard of tennis in NTU is definitely one of a high level. Recently in the past 2 years, our men’s team have emerged runners up consecutively and I believe that with every step that we have taken thus far, we are very near the gold medal. This is not possible without the help of our very dedicated coach, Royston, who trains us very hard, pushing us to strive further in our tennis level. I am confident that under his guidance and coupled with our enthusiastic pool of talented tennis players, tennis in NTU will definitely soar even higher in the near future.
4) You definitely have some memorable moments playing tennis, which ones stand out the most?
Well I definitely have a couple of memorable moments playing tennis. However one of my most recent memorable moments was winning last year NTU tennis Open championship. It was a sweet victory for me as I won the same opponent that I lost to in the very same tournament the year before.
5) Do you think Singaporean athletes are afraid to compete with athletes of a higher standard from other countries? Why or why not?
The thing about tennis and also other ball sports is that the ball is always round. This means that anything can happen during a match and even Roger (Federer) can lose to unknown players in major tournaments. Generally I feel that our local athletes are would undeniably feel intimidated when playing a better player from overseas. However the key thing here is that instead of letting that intimidation get the better of us, we can turn the situation to our favour instead. With a minor adjustment of how we perceive the situation, we can look at it as an opportunity to improve and also since we are the underdog we got nothing to lose but to just try our best. This definitely worked for me and hopefully it can be for you too.
6) What do you think can be done to improve the standard of tennis in Singapore?
Honestly speaking the standard in Singapore relative to global standards differs quite vastly. For players, the two most important things to actually catch up with the global standards are actually attitude and also discipline. One must have a very strong discipline, not just in terms of training but also in terms of diet and resting time. Players aspiring to reach a higher level must also have the right attitude and mind set and must be determined to reach for the stars. With a combination of these qualities, our local players will surely improve.
As for the general standard for our players as a whole, it is important that Singapore has a proper structure for players who are aspiring to join the professional circuit. Currently the tennis structure in Singapore is very much in need of a major reconstruction. So hopefully with proper funding and program in the future, our tennis players can soar to greater heights.
7) How do you think tennis can become a spectator sport in Singapore?
Tennis definitely has the potential to be a spectator sport in Singapore. Previously Singapore used to host major satellite tournaments such as the Honda Cup and also the Heineken Open. However due to what I believe as low response, these events were eventually closed down. To me there is still hope and the first step we need to do is to actually provide locations for spectator to watch tennis matches in Singapore. What is lacking is that we do not have tennis courts in Singapore that allows spectators to sit and watch.
8) How do you balance your studies with tennis?
Well I should be the last person answering this question! However my two cents worth of advice would in this aspect is that you need to have great amount of discipline. Discipline is important in anything we do and is even more so when you have to balance your passions. To me planning a timetable and making sure that you follow it would definitely be a good starting point.
9) Do you think there is enough media coverage for local tennis in Singapore? Why or why not?
Apart from the STA website and also in the sports results section in the Straits Times that one more often than not have to squint the eyes to read what is written, there is practically no other media coverage of tennis in Singapore. So I feel that we are lacking of media coverage and would definitely be an issue to look into.
