Late last year, the inbox of her mother Revathi had an unusual sender — Rafa Nadal Academy. It mentioned their interest in recruiting Maaya, and inquired whether the Indian could come down to the Spanish island of Mallorca for trials.

“It came out of the blue for us,” Revathi said. “But, obviously, someone (from the academy) would have spotted her somewhere.”

Behind the densely populated expanse of junior tennis in which hundreds and thousands of budding pros like Maaya grind, lies this exercise of spotting and scooping the cream of talent from it and trickling them into top academies around the globe. It forms the backbone to the most renowned academies that churn out some of the most polished pros — Rafa Nadal Academy, Piatti Tennis Center, Mouratoglou Academy and the Nick Bollettieri Academy, to name a few.

Speaking to HT, a coach part of the Nadal Academy said they have an entire separate department for “scouting young talent”. Most of the scouting is done at a few prestigious international age-group tournaments like the junior Grand Slams, Eddie Herr Championships, Junior Orange Bowl and Les Petits As, among others. “What the scouts largely look at is not just raw strokes and physical scope but also the attitude of the kid,” the coach said.

Most of these tournaments are held in Europe and USA. And in most cases, the academy approaches the shortlisted youngsters.

Like was the case with Maaya, who played the junior Australian Open and a bunch of junior ITF events in Europe and Mexico last year.

Like was the case with Alexandra Eala, the 19-year-old world No.139 from Philippines who has been with the Nadal Academy for six years. “They reached out to my family after I won the Les Petits As in 2018,” Eala, who competed in Mumbai, said.

Like was the case with Manas Dhamne, the promising Indian teen who won the U-12 Eddie Herr singles title and was then referred by IMG to the Piatti Centre. “We were given a few academy options, but we were told, including by Nick Bollettieri himself who was there, that it would be better for Manas to train in Europe,” Manas’s father Manoj said.

Like was the case with Yuki Bhambri, India’s former junior world No.1 who was roped in by the Bollettieri Academy at 14 (the same age as Maaya last year). Bhambri was approached after a “good week” at the zonal qualifiers of the age-group Davis Cup.

“There are agents and scouts that travel to various junior tournaments, and I was approached by my then IMG agent who was recruiting players for Bollettieri Academy,” Bhambri said.

“It’s always beneficial if they come to you rather than you going to them and having to shell out tons of money to try and get in. Because at the end of the day it’s their also investment in you as a player, so it benefits them for you to succeed.”

That is where trials assume significance. Bhambri had a two-week trial period at the Bollettieri Academy in Florida to “see if I like it, and if their coaches felt there was potential”. So did Maaya in Mallorca, the email from the Nadal Academy with the trials offer being too good to turn down.

“Only once we went there did we realise how massive the entire system of the academy is,” Revathi said.

That is also where, from an Indian viewpoint, playing more meaningful junior tournaments in Europe or USA comes in handy over chasing victories and titles in home events.

“That’s where junior tennis as a platform can benefit. If you can play well there, you’ve laid the foundation to attract some of these good academies — or even sponsors — which can help make the pathway towards ATP/WTA a bit easier,” said Bhambri.

Harnessing his skills at the Bollettieri Academy that “made a world of difference” as a junior, the 2009 Australian Open boys’ champion kept returning to its Florida centre for training even through his pro singles years in which he reached as high as world No.83. Checking into these top academies may not guarantee success, but it does provide access to world-class infrastructure, training methods and coaching; aspects where tennis in India lags.

“I felt like I had the best of both worlds: having a good coach in India and the setup in the US where I could get to compete and train with some of the best players in the world and get to see them up close,” Bhambri, currently No.42 in doubles, said.

Also coming from a country with paucity of quality tennis facilities, Philippines’ Eala smiles while talking about spending “basically all my teenage years” at the Nadal Academy.

“I was there on scholarship until I graduated high school, and now I’m there as a professional player,” the 19-year-old said. “I’m super lucky to have been exposed to that kind of environment, facility, and professionalism.”

So will India’s Maaya, as she gears up to check into the academy for her year-long stint.