The 6ft 6in, 24-year-old Dhakshineswar Suresh recently ascended to the top of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Doubles Rankings in the US. Despite facing significant setbacks due to injuries and the COVID-19 pandemic, Suresh is finally regaining his momentum within the robust US College Tennis system.

In this exclusive interview, Suresh discusses his decision to pursue college tennis in the US, the mentorship he received from Indian tennis star Somdev Devvarman, his post-college plans, and much more.

Tolasaria – You did not play a lot of ITF Juniors but did well whenever you played. What was the reason behind not playing much juniors?

Suresh – I didn’t play many junior tournaments because I didn’t have the sponsors to travel and play outside of India. So I played whenever the tournaments were conducted in India. Also, I didn’t really see a big future in playing juniors. And since the circumstances didn’t allow me to play them either, I decided it was more important and useful for me to start playing men’s so I can keep on the track that I wanted to be on.

Tolasaria – You made a late decision to go to US College. Could you explain the circumstances behind the decision?

Suresh – Basically, I wanted to start playing pro as soon as I could and because of that I decided to put a pause on my education early on. But then I was badly injured and COVID happened. All this put me in a really bad spot. That’s why college looked like a really good chance to help me achieve my goals of being a professional player. It was fairly late and I didn’t know whether I was gonna be eligible for D1 but I took the chance and went to an NAIA school to start with and then worked to get eligible to play D1 tennis so I could play better players in a really competitive environment.

Tolasaria – People are not usually familiar with how the US college system works. So could you explain the two terms that you just used, D1 and the other one, NAIA? And how did that play a role? And how did that essentially work in your journey in particular?

Suresh – Within college tennis there are many different types of organisations: NCAA and NAIA are two of them. NCAA tends to be the more “normal” one. Within the NCAA there are the D1, D2, & D3 colleges. D1 colleges are the most competitive within the NCAA and within the whole of college tennis itself. Unfortunately when I first went to the U.S. I wasn’t eligible to play D1 tennis according to NCAA rules because they require you to usually start college as soon as you finish school and I didn’t do that, I first went to an NAIA college for a year. The rules for this league are a lot more flexible. So I went there and tried to get eligible for D1. This process was pretty challenging, especially in my case because I was late. Everyone wants to play D1 tennis because it’s the highest possible level of college tennis and has set up the road for many to play pro. For example, Somdev played D1 at Virginia and won the NCAAs and then turned pro. That’s what a lot of people do. And he also guided me through my college tennis process to achieve my goals.

Tolasaria – Funny that you mentioned Somdev, which was going to be my next question. Remember, I met you in Chennai during the 2019 off season? I saw you were also being mentored by Somdev. And even after. Could you talk a little bit about that association?

Suresh – I knew him for a very long time, but he’s always mentored me, coached me, he tried to direct me through the college way, like how he did. But since I didn’t do school when I was young, it was a really tough few years since I had to finish school a little late. And then he tried to get me to D1 because his coach, who was in Virginia, is my head coach right now. And that is how Somdev helped me to get into the school. And that’s how it happened. So he basically mentored and helped me to get where I am right now.

Also, the process was so hard and took so long and there were so many tiny details that I couldn’t have managed alone. Graditude helped me through this process. Shreya (Pasricha) and Chris (Marquis) knew that getting me eligible for D1 directly was not going to be possible, so they guided me to be patient. They first helped me get into an NAIA school and then worked with me constantly to get me eligible to play D1 tennis at Wake Forest.

So yeah, Somdev and everyone at Graditude have been with me through the last couple of years and I wouldn’t be here without them.


Tolasaria – You cracked the No.1 ranking in the doubles in the NCAA. How was your experience been in college so far? In terms of training, facilities, etc

Suresh – One of the largest things is the coaches and the facilities. All my coaches are super competitive and driven and they want to win, they want to work hard, and they want each of us on the team to be our best versions on court. They want to win championships at the end of the day. And because of them, my teammates and I have the same goal, the same motivation and work ethic because we too want to win these championships. So it’s a really competitive environment and everyone wants to work hard. And not every school is like this. That’s why only a few teams end up making it to the top. As for the facilities, the first time I came here I was completely taken aback. Especially coming from India I had never seen anything like it. In a single place they have everything a player could possibly need. Like trainers, physios, nutritionists, everything! And it truly helped me so much over the last year. 

And for me, coming from an NAIA school, D1 has been a massive change. When I first came here, I was like Oh my god everyone is really good, I can’t just walk through matches. It’s not easy because everyone is competitive and a lot want to go pro but a lot even just have a lot of motivation and love to win for their colleges so it’s really tough! I want to go pro for sure and no matter what your goals are I think college tennis is a great way to start achieving them!

Suresh with the Wake Forest Tennis Team

Tolasaria – There are a lot of Indian pros that were very successful after college – Somdev, Saketh, Sanam, etc. What’s next for you? How many years of college do you have left? Any plans of competing full-fledgedly in the Pro circuit? Futures and then maybe potentially Challengers?

Suresh – My goal is definitely to go pro as soon as I’m done with college in 2 years or even before if I can. I’m going to play futures during this summer. Throughout the year it might be hard because of school but it depends on various things. Like I said, the level of college tennis is really high. And, the coaches are there to work with you no matter what your goals are. It’s not just to help you win matches at the college tennis level. That’s a big thing I’ve seen- if your goal is to go pro the coaches work with you continuously to get there. For example, one of my coaches was top 50 when he played on the circuit and I learn so much from him every single day and I think it brings me closer to my goals. Additionally, I can feel that I’ve improved so much since I got here because of the facilities and the resources. The way I train and my work ethic has improved drastically because of everything this place offers. And this path is only going to keep helping me achieve more and more! So it’s great!

Tolasaria – Do you have your finances sorted in terms of traveling and playing more often on the pro circuit, or how is it?

Suresh – As of now I don’t have a sponsor to travel. Being in college I luckily get to play a lot of competitive matches so that’s good. But ultimately the goal is to go pro and for that I need to travel and play futures. I have to talk to my coaches and see if we can find some donors or something to help me achieve my goals.