Dhakshineswar’s journey: Driven by big serve, via US college route

Indian tennis’ latest prospect is 6’5” and has the aggressive gamestyle to match

- Rutvick Mehta

An ace was also how he would seal Wake Forest University’s 2025 NCAA Division I men’s team championship in May.

That big serve from the 6’5” frame, to go with an aggressive game that complemented the indoor hard courts of Biel, was the key to India captain Rohit Rajpal bumping him up to be the team’s first roll of the dice as the sixth-highest ranked singles player. It was also key to the 626th-ranked debutant delivering a stunning upset of the 155th-ranked Jerome Kym, which gave India a 1-0 head-start and laid the foundation for their rare away Davis Cup win in Europe.

I try to play my gamestyle as much as possible,” Dhakshineswar, 25, told HT from the North Carolina city of Winston-Salem, where he is based.

That gamestyle wasn’t always centred around the big serve - a weapon not many Indian singles players, former or current, can boast of.

Dewarman, who transitioned to a top 100 pro from excelling at the American collegiate circuit, to also take that route.

“Somdev made me understand how college tennis works,” Dhakshineswar said. “It gives you a solid base, amazing coaches and facilities, you get to play tournaments, and you also get an education. You can never complain about that, right?”

The Wake Forest University student certainly wasn't complaining about honing his tennis skills in the mornings and evenings, while attending classes for communication studies in between. Individual and team training sessions, and a string of tournaments week in week out not only helped sharpen his weapon and game but also fitness over the past three years.