The journey of a 28-year-old South Asian from being a consultant to an aspiring professional athlete.
Few of us can boast of a career that is as broad-spectrum as being a consultant, an associate producer of a web series, a professional athlete, and a UNICEF member. But this 28-year-old South Asian has accomplished it all. Khalil Pillai, who is currently employed as a full-time professional consultant with a business and technology consulting organization, has already represented the United States Tennis Association on three occasions and is solely focused on getting to a grand slam qualifying match.
The Tennis Journey
It was around 2018 when Khalil Pillai decided to re enter the competitive tennis space. Having an inclination toward sports, Khalil was already playing polo, boxing, and CrossFit. Khalil knew that if he wanted to be a professional tennis player, he needed to train like one. Khalil began training with Chris Clark, a coach at Toss & Spin in Chicago, to overcome the first obstacle in his tennis journey. Khalil then transferred to John Morris, a coach at Lakeshore Sport & Fitness, to perfect his technique, refine his approach, and establish a strong mental game. He also consulted numerous personal strength trainers and a recovery specialist to keep his body and mind in top shape.
Even though the pandemic disrupted training and scheduling for a while, Khalil returned to training and re-building his tennis body once the gyms reopened. Khalil's game changed dramatically in 2021, after competing on three USTA teams and being able to play a wide range of opponents. But the real change and challenge came when he was trained by some of the top coaches in Barcelona at Barcelona's Tennis Academy.
As Khalil continued his tennis journey he continues to work full-time. In fact, you can likely find Khalil on the tennis court before 7am, work a full day delivering for his clients, and spending the evening recovering or doing another workout. He joined Credera in September 2020 and since the firm provided the option to work remotely, Khalil didn't have to pick between tennis and his job.
Despite his late start, he is fully devoted to giving it his all and remaining consistent. Khalil's mental and emotional wellness, as well as his perspective, set him apart from his competition.
Other Than Tennis and Consultancy Job
Besides being a consultant and a professional tennis player, Khalil has been an associate producer for a comedy web series, Code-Switched and a UNICEF USA Next Gen Board Member, all in an effort to give back to society.
Khalil hopes that through seeing his development, people would learn that they do not need to wait for someone to show them the way or lay out a strategy for them. Others should establish their route, fall, fail, and continue to grow as best they can.
Finally, a life lesson that Khalil wants to share with the world is to be authentic. He says that people can sense an inauthentic person, someone who gives little thought to others and only focuses on what they can gain from people. It is a disservice to people when you are ingenuine and lack common courtesy or respect for others.
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