Rajeev Ram celebrates after winning the Cincinnati Open men’s doubles final on Aug. 17. The victory added the 32nd Association of Tennis Professionals title to his accomplished doubles career. Ram said he feels proud to be able to represent CHS and leave a legacy at our school. (Submitted: Rajeev Ram)

On Aug. 11, the Carmel Clay Schools board voted to name the featured tennis court located at the Todd Witsken Tennis Complex after two-time Olympian and Carmel Class of 2002 graduate, Rajeev Ram. Unsurprisingly, this has impacted the tennis team in many ways. Elon Yuckman, tennis player and junior, said he thinks the naming is awesome. 

“He’s a true icon,” Yuckman said. “He’s a legend here at Carmel and just being able to name one of our newly established courts after a two-time Olympian and two-time silver medalist is inspiring, and (Ram) deserves it.”

Other members of the tennis team share these thoughts with Yuckman, and freshman coach John Faas said having a court named after an Olympian can also provide motivation for younger players.

Faas said, “(Ram) played here, and he has made it. You believe in yourself, dream the big dream and it can happen. Don’t ever give up.”

For older players like junior Vaardan Goel, having this boost in morale on the team can be a great refresher.

Goel said, “I think it would help with motivation. Also, that’s someone that we can look up to and strive to be (like).”

Yuckman said playing on the court with Ram’s name on it leads to the players and team coming closer together.

“I think it’ll push us to work harder,” he said. “It’ll bring us together. We all want to be like (Ram) and we all want to strive towards that goal of having our name there.”

Yuckman also said this change will help to attract the younger generations of student athletes to the team.

“As I said before, I think that having that goal, having that name set out is a motive for all of us here to try and be like him, to try and have that kind of impact on the Carmel community and have that impact worldwide,” Yuckman said. “I think that it is really cool what (Ram) has done, and honoring it is the bare minimum we can do to show our pride in him as a Carmel alumni.”