2015 Rothenberg Marks Ramit Tandon's First Tournament as Income Earning Squash Pro
by Corey Modeste

May 1, 2015, New York—Columbia University's Ramit Tandon lost a close three games to world #43 Ryan Cuskelly in

the finals of the 2015 Rothenberg Squash Tournament at the Eastern Athletic Club last weekend. 

Australian transplant Cuskelly is a familiar fixture in New York area play and is currently playing career-

best squash.  His win in the Rothenberg comes in the wake of several other key victories, including the

$25,000 Northern Ontario Championships (where he beat world #33 Laurens Jan Anjema in three

games) and a win in the $15,000 Oregon Open (where he beat #28 Omar Abdel Meguid, also in three

games).

The Rothenberg final was also noteworthy because it marked the first time that Tandon was able to

accept prize money in a pro tournament. Despite his amateur status, Ramit Tandon and other top

college players have seen success at the professional level.  Amateur college players may retain their pro

status as long as they do not accept prize money or appearance fees.  Tandon has had several key wins

over highly-ranked players, including beating top-50 players Rex Hedrick, Harinder Sandhu and Shahier

Razik. In addition, recent college players at Tandon's level have begun successful pro careers. Harvard's

Ali Farag (class of 2014) has been a full time pro for less than 12 months and already has seven tour wins

and a top-70 ranking. 

Given Tandon's talent, he has often faced the question of "will you or won't you go pro after

graduation". Each time he has deferred the answer with a polite and diplomatic response. With his

collegiate squash career over, the Rothenberg gave Tandon the opportunity to add some clarity to his

future plans.  "There is a lot to playing as a professional squash player, and I need to learn more about

the sport before I firmly decide. The collegiate game can be very competitive, but the season is long and

not all matches give you pro level experience. And being a pro is a lot more than just playing

tournaments. I need to know what it feels like mentally and physically to train 4-6 hours a day, to put in

the running miles and gym hours."

I asked if there was a target ranking that would be a satisfactory for him to continue training and playing

as a pro. "It's not really about the ranking. It's about how my body holds up, how I feel about the

training.  More importantly, regardless of my ranking, I would look to get some key wins or results

against top players to see what I might be able to accomplish."  Tandon will return to India this summer

to train with the Indian federation. Some world level events over the summer will serve as some initial

pro tests.  Ever pragmatic, he has also scheduled a fall internship with a top financial services firm in

New  York to make sure all bases are covered.