Gurgaon: Tennis was her passion, a game she began playing as early as Class 3 when she was barely taller than the net.”She wanted to make it big in the game. It was her dream to play Wimbledon one day,” said Dr Manoj DM, who Radhika Yadav consulted as her physiotherapist through her playing years.That’s, however, not how her career turned out, the talent not translating into consistent victories on court that would move her up the ITF (International Tennis Federation) rankings and gain her entry into top tier tournaments. The ITF website shows Radhika had a singles ranking of 1999.During the pandemic, Radhika turned her attention to coaching, though she continued to play competitive tennis in the form of national and ITF tour events. She also explored other interests, making an appearance in a music video that was shot in 2023.Radhika (25) was on Thursday shot dead by Deepak at their house in Sector 57.Those who knew Radhika told TOI she was a driven, hardworking and focused woman who wanted to be successful at what she did. She attended Scottish High International School. She did not eventually go to college, focusing on her tennis career instead.”I saw her grow from a teenager to a motivated young woman and it deeply saddens me to see such a brilliant life cut short like this,” said Manoj, whose association with Radhika began when she was just 14. “She was a good player who was passionate about tennis and would keep pushing boundaries, despite injuries and physical pains. Eight years ago, she had a cyst in her shoulder and was in extreme pain. But she overcame that and continued to play,” he said, adding he was aghast that her father had shot her.According to Manoj, after Covid, Radhika’s career took a back seat as she focused less on her personal game. There were minor injuries and aches and pains that she was struggling with, which could have led to her focusing less on the game, he added.Besides the academy near her house, which is believed to be the trigger for the spat between her and her father, Radhika coached at different local academies and also at the Magnolias.A fellow tennis player who coached with her at Magnolia said he had seen her playing tennis since school and her talent was unmistakable. “I saw her play since she was 9-10 years old. Years later, I connected with her at Magnolias where she started coaching about a month ago. Everyone who took training under her liked her,” said the coach.Radhika had, meanwhile, featured in a music video called Karwaan alongside Inaam Ul Haq, a TV actor and singer. The video, released in June last year, now has over 20,000 views on YouTube. Inaam wrote on his social media account that he was “shocked to know” about Radhika’s death. He said that he did not know much about her, their association limited to that one video. Flooded with questions, Inaam urged people to “leave him and his family alone”.