The Future of Wilton Tennis

Rising young tennis star Noah Farrell is not going to intimidate anyone with his physical appearance, as the 13-year-old Wilton resident stands just 5'1 and barely weighs 100 pounds.

"The last time I checked I was 101," he said with a smile.

But appearances can be deceiving. Just ask Farrell's summertime coach Ritush Venugopal.

"He's a pocket rocket because he is so fast on the court," said Venugopal, also the head coach at Western Connecticut State University and a teaching professional at the Four Seasons Racquet Club in Wilton, where Farrell trains. "He looks bigger on the court than in person."

Although he doesn't turn 14 until August 17, Farrell currently is ranked seventh in New England in the 14-and-under division by the USTA. He has another full year to play in that age group, so he could improve that standing.

Earlier in the summer, Farrell competed in the USTA National Clay Court  Championships in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Last week, he won three matches in the USTA zonal championships in Kalamazoo, Michigan while representing the New England region.

While the backhand is Farrell's best shot, he concedes that serving is one area of his game that needs improvement. Of course, that's understandable. There's only so much power one can pack into a five-foot, 100-pound frame.

Farrell hits twice a week with Venugopal. When he isn't playing in a tournament, which is about twice a month, he hits with his father, Josh, at home on the weekend, so he's generally working on his game four or five days a week. 

"I've been working on my serve lately with my coach," Farrell said. '"Hopefully, in the next couple months, I can get that to be a good weapon."

Farrell may lack a powerful serve, but he makes up for it in other areas, including the intangibles.

"He's got a lot of energy," Venugopal said. "For his size, he has the heart for the game. He wants it. That's the difference between Noah and other people. You can have 20, 30 kids at that caliber and only one or two want it."

Venugopal is hoping that Farrell can grow a few inches, but that of course is beyond his control and it's a good bet that he's not going to be another Ivo Karlovic (the tallest player on the ATP Tour at 6'10).

Still, it has been Venugopal's experience as a longtime coach that kids tend to sprout during their sophomore year in high school as they develop into full adolescence.

"I want to obviously play high school tennis and if I get to the point, I'd like to play college tennis," said Farrell, who will will be one of the youngest freshmen at Wilton High School in the fall. "That would be fun. But I want to go to a good academic school and play tennis there."

Off the court, Farrell is a solid student, listing social studies and science as his two favorite subjects. Given Farrell's tennis ability and academic prowess, Venugopal can see his pupil getting into a top academic school to play tennis.

He mentioned Cornell, the alma mater of Farrell's father, Josh, as a possibility, although that is several years down the road. Venugopal has no doubt that his prodigy is going to dominate the local high school scene.

"He is going to be Wilton's star player for the next four years, that's a given," Venugopal said. "On the national level, he's got to work harder, and he's willing to do that."

Farrell has been involved in a fitness and training program at Four Seasons for the past two years to build up body mass and prevent injury because he routinely competes against players who are bigger and stronger.

"With every loss, you can learn from your experiences, Farrell said. "Like if you have too many double faults, you can just work on that, but I do like winning."

Getting taller certainly could help Farrell with his serve, but that isn't everything. Andy Roddick's serve has been clocked at 154 miles per hour, yet he has had a generally disappointing career. Andre Agassi never had a booming serve but is a certain tennis Hall of Famer.

Locally, Venugopal compares Farrell to Daniel Hirschberg, the Staples High School senior-to-be who won the CIAC Class LL state championship in the spring and is the top-rated scholastic player in Connecticut.

Hirschberg also is a smallish kid who doesn't have a dominating serve, but wears down opponents with a consistently solid overall game. Farrell might be a younger Hirschberg.

"Noah is Wilton's future," Venugopal said.