Rupesh Roy at the BTA Complex on Wednesday. Picture by Santosh Ghosh

Calcutta: Last eight months have completely transformed city-based tennis star Rupesh Roy’s way of looking at life. A three-year scholarship (of which only eight months have passed) at the Bosse Foundation in Boston has made him a true professional.

But the monetary problem refuses to go, comes as he is from a quite ordinary background.

“The Bengal Tennis Association (BTA) has done a lot for me, otherwise I wouldn’t have made it to the Boston academy,” Rupesh said.

Currently undergoing training under Johan Duran and Steven Host, Rupesh has climbed up to the 85th spot on the ITF list, though last year he was 51st. “My ranking had gone down as I couldn’t take part in the few of the tournaments owing to financial crunch,” Rupesh told The Telegraph, a day after his arrival in Calcutta for Christmas holidays.

Impressed highly by the Calcutta boy, Steven Host shot off a letter to BTA in early July, stating that after overcoming a humble background, he has emerged as a real talent. Rupesh’s ITF ranking was 180 then.

But that hasn’t made him complacent. “My serve has improved like anything, but I still have to work on it,” Rupesh said.

The idea of making a quiet entry into the pro circuit is at the back of his mind. “You never know. I hope I can make it in two years, but I am not in any hurry,” the Bosse Foundation trainee said.

Rupesh has interacted several times with the likes of Sania Mirza, Fazaluddin, Mahesh Bhupathi and Leander Paes, but the ‘sponsorship issue’ never came up.