Kiranpal (KP) Pannu has become New Zealand's number one ranked men's tennis player after winning two ITF tournaments in the Caribbean over the past month.
The Wellingtonian has also provisionally moved to 451 in the ATP's world rankings following his most recent victory.
He joined Adam Cooper to discuss how these wins can help him progress to the next level of tournaments.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Well, some real positive signs in the last month or
so from Wellington tennis pro KP Parno. He's been slogging
away on sort of the lower end of the world
tour for quite some time now a couple of seasons,
and in the past month two big wins which have
really helped him along in terms of possibly progressing up
the ranks in terms of the international tennis circuit. He's
(00:20):
had two wins at tournaments in the Caribbean over the
past month. These are at ITF level events, that's the
next one down from the ATP Challenger Series. Winning in
both Kingston and the Dominican Republic at tournaments over the
past month, and that Dominican Republic win coming last weekend.
What these wins have done to KP partner, It's brought
him inside the world's top five hundred ranked players and
(00:44):
it's also elevated him to be KIWI number one, which
is great news. Ahead of him returning to parmas the
norton September four in New Zealand's home Davis Cup tie
against Luxembourg. KP Pardho is with us now here on
the All Sport Breakfast KP great to catch up again mate,
you're well and you must have been stoked with how
the last month or so it's played out.
Speaker 2 (01:05):
Yeah, hey mate, thanks for having me on the Show's
good to be back on the show.
Speaker 3 (01:09):
And yeah, it's been going great.
Speaker 2 (01:11):
I've been playing some good tennis and been kind of
validating the hard work and stuff that's been going on
behind the scenes.
Speaker 3 (01:18):
So yeah, I'm stoked.
Speaker 1 (01:20):
Yeah, because a lot of hard work goes in when
you're on this tour. It can be a pretty lonely existence,
can't it. So to have success come your way in
the form of actual titles, yeah, just tell us what
it means for you in terms of motivation and everything.
Speaker 2 (01:32):
Yeah, No, it's huge looking to try to play on
the Challenger Tour primarily later in the year, which for
those who don't know, is kind of the.
Speaker 3 (01:40):
Tour right under the main tour, the atpiece.
Speaker 2 (01:43):
So it's good, you know, I feel like I'm putting
the weeks in the trenches and so to get rewarded
for it is very nice and definitely gives me more
opportunity to play in the bigger events later in the year,
which I'm really really excited for.
Speaker 1 (01:57):
So, I mean, your form had been looking pretty good.
You got through to see semi finals and finals of
other tournaments, so did you kind of feel like a
win light this one was coming?
Speaker 2 (02:06):
I mean, without sounding too cocky, you know, I was
always every tournament I'm in, especially at the fifteen K level,
which is the lowest level professional tournament in terms of
prize money and points up for grabs.
Speaker 3 (02:17):
You know, I'm always hoping to win the tournament.
Speaker 2 (02:19):
So yeah, definitely feels nice to kind of get the
points and get a little bit of money, and yeah,
really it really does help the confidence, just getting wins
under the belt, and yeah, it really has set me
up nicely going forward.
Speaker 1 (02:32):
Have you focused on anything in particular with your game
in the first half of twenty twenty four.
Speaker 2 (02:37):
I'm really just being more aggressive and more offensive. I've
always been good at kind of playing defense and being
on that side of things, but yeah, just trying to
play more offensive. And I felt like I really have
been playing good, you know, ever since end of last
year and ASB Davis Cup, and yeah, all through the year,
and I just had been struggling a little bit with
(02:57):
staying healthy, just kept catching cold and the.
Speaker 3 (03:00):
Flu and you know, you name it. And I felt
like I.
Speaker 2 (03:03):
Was playing really good tennis all year, but didn't have
too much to show for it, and so yeah, now
now I'm really happy that I kind of have that
validation and can just yeah, really proves that I'm doing
the right things.
Speaker 1 (03:16):
So tell us about the IF the fifteen and twenty
five level tournament. Does everyone kind of in the same
position as you. You're all kind of chasing that next
step up to the challenger level.
Speaker 3 (03:24):
Yeah, definitely.
Speaker 2 (03:25):
It's kind of the introduction i'd say, the professional tennis.
Speaker 3 (03:28):
And everybody has to go through it.
Speaker 2 (03:30):
So yeah, for me, I'm kind of just trying to
put the time in and get the points that I
need to you know, move on to the Challenger Tour.
Speaker 3 (03:38):
But yeah, with that being said, the IF flour is
no joke.
Speaker 2 (03:42):
You know, the conditions are not ideal. It's pretty tough
out there, and like you said, it's lonely so and
there's so many good players.
Speaker 3 (03:49):
You know, just because it's.
Speaker 2 (03:50):
The fifteen care of twenty five K doesn't necessarily mean
that the competition is going to be that much weaker
than the higher levels.
Speaker 3 (03:56):
So it's a tough spot to be in because.
Speaker 2 (03:59):
You're barely breaking even you're not getting you know, too
many points and it's definitely not glamorous, but everybody has
to go through it, so so I'm happy and excited
to kind of be almost through with it.
Speaker 1 (04:10):
Yeah, and breaking into that top five hundred, just tell
us what that means to you and how significant is
it for you.
Speaker 2 (04:16):
Yeah, it's huge, It's huge. I've always kind of had
the goal. It's never been the primary goal, but I've
had the goal to be that, you know, try to
be the number one New Zealand tennis player.
Speaker 3 (04:25):
And now that I've.
Speaker 2 (04:26):
Reached that career high of I think next week will
be about four hundred and fifty in the world. Yeah,
to be a number one New Zealand player, which I've
joked about it. We're definitely proud to say that. You know,
at one point I was I am the number one
New Zealand player and yes, definitely not the end though,
you know, I really want to make the ground same
qualifying That's that's the goal that me and my team
(04:47):
have and you know, to do that, I've got to
push inside the top two hundred and fifty in the world.
Speaker 3 (04:52):
So it's really nice to.
Speaker 2 (04:53):
Kind of, you know, be in the top five hundred
and be the number one ranked New Zealand player right now,
but it's still got a lot of work to go.
Speaker 1 (05:00):
Yeah, so I know you've landed back in America now, KP.
Tell us what is then planned for the next weeks
months are here and what needs to happen to lift
up into playing some of those challenger tournaments.
Speaker 2 (05:10):
Oh yeah, I've got two weeks here of training, which
I'm excited about. I've haven't really been able to put
a good training block in because I've just been on
the road so much playing.
Speaker 3 (05:20):
So it'll be the next couple of weeks.
Speaker 2 (05:22):
And then I'll be playing a combination of twenty five
k's and challenger events over the next two months, and
then it'll be back to New Zealand for Davis Cup.
So really just trying to make the most of the
next eight weeks before I come back home.
Speaker 1 (05:37):
Is a nice sort of light at the end of
the tunnel. Having something like Davis Cup the chance to
come back home to wear Kiwi colors and represent New Zealand. Like,
is it always in the back of your mind knowing
that's there through the maybe more challenging times overseas.
Speaker 2 (05:49):
Absolutely, Yeah, it's definitely a highlight through the year. Getting
you represented New Zealand so special and something.
Speaker 3 (05:57):
That you know, I dreamed of really as a church.
Speaker 2 (06:01):
Yeah, it's always nice even going through a rough patch,
knowing that you know you have you get to play
Davis Cuff. It definitely keeps his spirits high.
Speaker 1 (06:09):
Awesome, KP. Well, it's been great to chat as always.
Make congratulations on the last couple of months and yeah,
looking forward to tracking your progresses as things ramp up
for the rest of the year.
Speaker 2 (06:18):
Mate.
Speaker 1 (06:18):
I appreciate your time.
Speaker 3 (06:20):
Yeah, thank you, thank you for having me on.
Speaker 1 (06:22):
Always a pleasure, KP. Thanks for your time, mate. Yeah,
awesome news for KP partners. It's tough and I see
KP did a more extended chat with The Herald during
the week as well, just about his you know, just
the sacrifices he's made and how genuinely tough it is,
you know, choosing tournaments based on how cheap of the
accommodation is in that particular city, just because it is
really hard to make a living when you're battling away
(06:42):
on the world tour. So he is hoping for KP's sake,
the last couple of wins he's head will elevate him
to that next level up and he can sort of
start playing for a bit more cash to make his
journey on the World Tennis turket a more sustainable one,
which you know, which we all hope and great to
see that someone who's you know, progressed up the tennis
thanks from here in Wellington, is having some good moments
(07:03):
on the World Tour. Besse. It's incredibly tough being a
tennis pro. He doesn't sort of fit in with Tennis
New Zealand's criteria for them to specifically support him, and
I know that you know that they're looking out for
some sponsors and some backers just to help them sort
of make ends meet on the world tours. So yeah,
awesome to catch up with KP and he is hoping
the last half of twenty twenty four brings some more
(07:25):
fantastic results for him on the world tennis circuit. For
more from News Talks ad B listen live on air
or online and keep our shows with you wherever you
go with our podcast on iHeartRadio
Well, some real positive signs in the last month or
so from Wellington tennis pro KP Parno. He's been slogging
away on sort of the lower end of the world
tour for quite some time now a couple of seasons,
and in the past month two big wins which have
really helped him along in terms of possibly progressing up
the ranks in terms of the international tennis circuit. He's
(00:20):
had two wins at tournaments in the Caribbean over the
past month. These are at ITF level events, that's the
next one down from the ATP Challenger Series. Winning in
both Kingston and the Dominican Republic at tournaments over the
past month, and that Dominican Republic win coming last weekend.
What these wins have done to KP partner, It's brought
him inside the world's top five hundred ranked players and
(00:44):
it's also elevated him to be KIWI number one, which
is great news. Ahead of him returning to parmas the
norton September four in New Zealand's home Davis Cup tie
against Luxembourg. KP Pardho is with us now here on
the All Sport Breakfast KP great to catch up again mate,
you're well and you must have been stoked with how
the last month or so it's played out.
Speaker 2 (01:05):
Yeah, hey mate, thanks for having me on the Show's
good to be back on the show.
Speaker 3 (01:09):
And yeah, it's been going great.
Speaker 2 (01:11):
I've been playing some good tennis and been kind of
validating the hard work and stuff that's been going on
behind the scenes.
Speaker 3 (01:18):
So yeah, I'm stoked.
Speaker 1 (01:20):
Yeah, because a lot of hard work goes in when
you're on this tour. It can be a pretty lonely existence,
can't it. So to have success come your way in
the form of actual titles, yeah, just tell us what
it means for you in terms of motivation and everything.
Speaker 2 (01:32):
Yeah, No, it's huge looking to try to play on
the Challenger Tour primarily later in the year, which for
those who don't know, is kind of the.
Speaker 3 (01:40):
Tour right under the main tour, the atpiece.
Speaker 2 (01:43):
So it's good, you know, I feel like I'm putting
the weeks in the trenches and so to get rewarded
for it is very nice and definitely gives me more
opportunity to play in the bigger events later in the year,
which I'm really really excited for.
Speaker 1 (01:57):
So, I mean, your form had been looking pretty good.
You got through to see semi finals and finals of
other tournaments, so did you kind of feel like a
win light this one was coming?
Speaker 2 (02:06):
I mean, without sounding too cocky, you know, I was
always every tournament I'm in, especially at the fifteen K level,
which is the lowest level professional tournament in terms of
prize money and points up for grabs.
Speaker 3 (02:17):
You know, I'm always hoping to win the tournament.
Speaker 2 (02:19):
So yeah, definitely feels nice to kind of get the
points and get a little bit of money, and yeah,
really it really does help the confidence, just getting wins
under the belt, and yeah, it really has set me
up nicely going forward.
Speaker 1 (02:32):
Have you focused on anything in particular with your game
in the first half of twenty twenty four.
Speaker 2 (02:37):
I'm really just being more aggressive and more offensive. I've
always been good at kind of playing defense and being
on that side of things, but yeah, just trying to
play more offensive. And I felt like I really have
been playing good, you know, ever since end of last
year and ASB Davis Cup, and yeah, all through the year,
and I just had been struggling a little bit with
(02:57):
staying healthy, just kept catching cold and the.
Speaker 3 (03:00):
Flu and you know, you name it. And I felt
like I.
Speaker 2 (03:03):
Was playing really good tennis all year, but didn't have
too much to show for it, and so yeah, now
now I'm really happy that I kind of have that
validation and can just yeah, really proves that I'm doing
the right things.
Speaker 1 (03:16):
So tell us about the IF the fifteen and twenty
five level tournament. Does everyone kind of in the same
position as you. You're all kind of chasing that next
step up to the challenger level.
Speaker 3 (03:24):
Yeah, definitely.
Speaker 2 (03:25):
It's kind of the introduction i'd say, the professional tennis.
Speaker 3 (03:28):
And everybody has to go through it.
Speaker 2 (03:30):
So yeah, for me, I'm kind of just trying to
put the time in and get the points that I
need to you know, move on to the Challenger Tour.
Speaker 3 (03:38):
But yeah, with that being said, the IF flour is
no joke.
Speaker 2 (03:42):
You know, the conditions are not ideal. It's pretty tough
out there, and like you said, it's lonely so and
there's so many good players.
Speaker 3 (03:49):
You know, just because it's.
Speaker 2 (03:50):
The fifteen care of twenty five K doesn't necessarily mean
that the competition is going to be that much weaker
than the higher levels.
Speaker 3 (03:56):
So it's a tough spot to be in because.
Speaker 2 (03:59):
You're barely breaking even you're not getting you know, too
many points and it's definitely not glamorous, but everybody has
to go through it, so so I'm happy and excited
to kind of be almost through with it.
Speaker 1 (04:10):
Yeah, and breaking into that top five hundred, just tell
us what that means to you and how significant is
it for you.
Speaker 2 (04:16):
Yeah, it's huge, It's huge. I've always kind of had
the goal. It's never been the primary goal, but I've
had the goal to be that, you know, try to
be the number one New Zealand tennis player.
Speaker 3 (04:25):
And now that I've.
Speaker 2 (04:26):
Reached that career high of I think next week will
be about four hundred and fifty in the world. Yeah,
to be a number one New Zealand player, which I've
joked about it. We're definitely proud to say that. You know,
at one point I was I am the number one
New Zealand player and yes, definitely not the end though,
you know, I really want to make the ground same
qualifying That's that's the goal that me and my team
(04:47):
have and you know, to do that, I've got to
push inside the top two hundred and fifty in the world.
Speaker 3 (04:52):
So it's really nice to.
Speaker 2 (04:53):
Kind of, you know, be in the top five hundred
and be the number one ranked New Zealand player right now,
but it's still got a lot of work to go.
Speaker 1 (05:00):
Yeah, so I know you've landed back in America now, KP.
Tell us what is then planned for the next weeks
months are here and what needs to happen to lift
up into playing some of those challenger tournaments.
Speaker 2 (05:10):
Oh yeah, I've got two weeks here of training, which
I'm excited about. I've haven't really been able to put
a good training block in because I've just been on
the road so much playing.
Speaker 3 (05:20):
So it'll be the next couple of weeks.
Speaker 2 (05:22):
And then I'll be playing a combination of twenty five
k's and challenger events over the next two months, and
then it'll be back to New Zealand for Davis Cup.
So really just trying to make the most of the
next eight weeks before I come back home.
Speaker 1 (05:37):
Is a nice sort of light at the end of
the tunnel. Having something like Davis Cup the chance to
come back home to wear Kiwi colors and represent New Zealand. Like,
is it always in the back of your mind knowing
that's there through the maybe more challenging times overseas.
Speaker 2 (05:49):
Absolutely, Yeah, it's definitely a highlight through the year. Getting
you represented New Zealand so special and something.
Speaker 3 (05:57):
That you know, I dreamed of really as a church.
Speaker 2 (06:01):
Yeah, it's always nice even going through a rough patch,
knowing that you know you have you get to play
Davis Cuff. It definitely keeps his spirits high.
Speaker 1 (06:09):
Awesome, KP. Well, it's been great to chat as always.
Make congratulations on the last couple of months and yeah,
looking forward to tracking your progresses as things ramp up
for the rest of the year.
Speaker 2 (06:18):
Mate.
Speaker 1 (06:18):
I appreciate your time.
Speaker 3 (06:20):
Yeah, thank you, thank you for having me on.
Speaker 1 (06:22):
Always a pleasure, KP. Thanks for your time, mate. Yeah,
awesome news for KP partners. It's tough and I see
KP did a more extended chat with The Herald during
the week as well, just about his you know, just
the sacrifices he's made and how genuinely tough it is,
you know, choosing tournaments based on how cheap of the
accommodation is in that particular city, just because it is
really hard to make a living when you're battling away
(06:42):
on the world tour. So he is hoping for KP's sake,
the last couple of wins he's head will elevate him
to that next level up and he can sort of
start playing for a bit more cash to make his
journey on the World Tennis turket a more sustainable one,
which you know, which we all hope and great to
see that someone who's you know, progressed up the tennis
thanks from here in Wellington, is having some good moments
(07:03):
on the World Tour. Besse. It's incredibly tough being a
tennis pro. He doesn't sort of fit in with Tennis
New Zealand's criteria for them to specifically support him, and
I know that you know that they're looking out for
some sponsors and some backers just to help them sort
of make ends meet on the world tours. So yeah,
awesome to catch up with KP and he is hoping
the last half of twenty twenty four brings some more
(07:25):
fantastic results for him on the world tennis circuit. For
more from News Talks ad B listen live on air
or online and keep our shows with you wherever you
go with our podcast on iHeartRadio
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