Meditating maverick: Smith’s return from the brink

Bengaluru: One moment, Keegan Smith is at his aggressive best -- sending down serves ranging beyond 200 kms/hr and ripping groundstrokes from all corners of the tennis court. In the very next moment, during changeovers, the 6-foot-7-inch American is seen with his eyes closed, spine upright, arms resting on his thighs as he inhales and exhales peacefully. 

“Life is not easy. Tennis is tough. Meditating and breathing the right way keeps me calm,” Smith tells DH, who is in Bengaluru competing at the back-to-back ATP 50 Challenger events. “It detaches me from the future as well. Like, worrying about what will happen,” he adds. 

The 27-year-old’s spiritual, yoga-practicing, meditating maverick self may seem odd on a tennis court, but those who know him well will understand Smith’s need for detachment and deep thinking as these traits were triggered following a near-death experience. 

Smith began playing tennis when he was five years old and was always an avid skateboarder. The hobby, however, turned disastrous when the San Diego man suffered a freak fall while on his board, leading to a moderate traumatic brain injury and haematoma. He was found unconscious on the street and hospitalised for over a week.

Smith was back on tennis court a little over a month after the mishap, won an ITF M15 title a few months later and got back to top-350 in the world within a year, showing remarkable fighting spirit. Currently, the right-hander won the Karnataka Open ATP 50 Challenger here on Saturday as the top seed to reach a career-high of 245. He is hoping to go all the way again at the SM Krishna Memorial this week.

For all his tenacity, however, it has taken Smith years to accept and let go of the difficult phase.  

“I had a blood clot in my brain and broke my temporal bone (which deals with hearing and balance). I still have frequent headaches, a lot of neck and back pain. I wouldn’t remember things and took time to process and express things. But I’m in a much better place now. 

“I went to a neurologist and a chiropractic center in Atlanta, Georgia. They have many eye movement drills that can improve our brain function and help us recover. The chiropractors worked on my head and neck. Recently, at my training facility at Moore Tennis Academy in Shanghai, China, I would go into an oxygen chamber and sit in there for a couple of hours.” 

All along his upward climb, Smith says yoga and meditation have been constant companions to handle the pressures of the Tour and life in general. 

“My brother got me into yoga in high school. And now I love meditating, just sitting down. That’s why I was excited to come to India. I visited Ramakrishna Math almost everyday last week. I want to go to ISKCON this week. 

“Doing all this helps me understand the energies around me. It helps me read situations in a match or the opponent better. Yeah, I do feel lucky to be here,” smiles Smith.

A good second week here in the city will in all likelihood help Smith enter the top-200 on the ATP ranking chart. That would ensure his entry into the Wimbledon qualifiers beginning June 22. But the self-proclaimed ‘observer of his surroundings’ is planning another pitstop in India before heading out. 

“A friend told me about a mountain I need to visit in Shi…? Shillong! I will mostly go there and then fly to England to start the grass court season,” he offers.