At a young age, Nishesh Basavareddy ’26 dreamt of becoming a professional tennis player, and on Dec. 5, he forged his path to do so, officially deciding to pursue a professional career and forgoing his National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) eligibility.
Just one month later, Basavareddy competed in the Australian Open, one of four Grand Slam tournaments held each year, where he played against former world number one Novak Djokovic in the first round on Jan. 12, losing 6-4, 3-6, 4-6, 2-6.
Prior to that, Basavareddy competed on the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) tour during the summer and fall of 2024, all while maintaining his NCAA eligibility and status as a student. According to men’s tennis head coach Paul Goldstein, Basavareddy maintained his NCAA eligibility while taking the fall quarter off because he didn’t accept prize money above his unnecessary expenses.
“We’re extremely happy for him,” Goldstein said. “It’s a fulfillment of a life-long dream he’s had since he was nine, 10-years-old.”
Basavareddy closed off last year competing in the Next Gen ATP Finals in Saudi Arabia, an annual tournament reserved for the world’s top eight players aged 20 and under, where he finished seventh.
Now standing with a global singles ranking of 105 and with two ATP Challenger titles to his name, Basavareddy is hoping to make a mark at the professional stage.
According to assistant head coach Brandon Coupe, Stanford men’s tennis is typically a top 10 team in the country, allowing Basavareddy to play a lot of high-quality matches and helping him in his overall development.
“When I graduated high school, I was only 17-years-old. I still needed some time to mature physically, and I think my time at Stanford definitely helped a lot on that,” Basavareddy said.
At Stanford, Basavareddy was a two-time Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) All-American in 2023 and 2024, an ITA Fall National Champion in 2022, a Pac-12 Singles Player of the Year in 2024 and a second team College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-American as a sophomore.
Goldstein said that Basavareddy’s goal for 2025 is to reach the top 100 in the world prior to the first round of the French Open in late May. His long-term goal is to win a Grand Slam title and make a living out of tennis.
In an interview with the Association of Tennis Professionals, Basavareddy said he wants to continue his studies and degree at Stanford after he completes his tour and his professional tennis career concludes. Goldstein, Coupe, his personal coach Bryan Smith and his family were primary factors in helping him reach his decision to pause his studies and play professionally.
“I’m so proud of the kid and I’m so excited for his future on the tour. He’s a great young man,” Coupe said.