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Basavareddy’s big decision: How the #NextGenATP star enjoys life as a professional

The American secured his first win in the main draw of the ATP Tour on Tuesday in Auckland

January 7, 2025

Making big life decisions can be difficult for anyone, especially someone in their teens.

Still, Nishesh Basavareddy is remarkably composed as he talks about his thought process before deciding to drop out of college and turn pro in early December. The 19-year-old, who competed for the Stanford University Cardinals for two years before making a late-2024 rebound that helped him secure a spot in the season-ending Next Gen ATP Finals in Jeddah presented by PIF, is the Opinion that his increasing success benefited him, making the decision inevitable.

“I think there was a lot of thought about it over the summer and fall, but I knew if I qualified (for Jeddah) and also had a wildcard for the Australian Open main draw, it would just make the decision a lot easier,” said Basavareddy told ATPTour.com. “Knowing I would be competing in the bigger tournaments and getting closer to the top 100, it was a pretty easy decision for me at the time, but leaving college tennis and my team at Stanford behind was never easy.”

While many young people face the decision of whether or not to go to college, the decision to drop out of further education to succeed in the highly competitive world of elite sports is not. Student-athletes find themselves in a somewhat unique situation, especially given that there are no guarantees when it comes to a professional sports career, the early stages of which can be particularly rocky, providing a stark contrast to the relative stability of college life.

For this reason, Basavareddy sought advice from more experienced minds before making the move.

“I definitely talked to people about the decision,” he remembers. “James, my agent, the coaching team and Rajeev (Ram) really helped me a lot. He left after a semester at the University of Illinois and helped me understand what to expect when I do that and become a professional. But they supported all my decisions, so it was easier for me to make a decision.”

The overwhelming catalyst for Basavareddy’s move was a stunning run of form on the ATP Challenger Tour following the 2024 US Open. From September to November, he won 28 of 34 Challenger matches, taking titles in Tiburon and Puerto Vallarta. After starting the year ranked No. 457 in the PIF ATP rankings, he finished it at No. 138.

“I feel like the consistent results at Challengers after the US Open definitely gave me the belief that I can repeat that month after month and at every tournament,” Basavareddy said. “I think that’s probably where I saw the biggest improvement in my game, just the steady improvement throughout the year in a lot of aspects of my game.”

Basavareddy earned his first tour victory and his first triumph against a top-50 opponent by defeating Shang Juncheng in Jeddah. He has carried this self-confidence into the 2025 season, in which he has already qualified for his first main rounds of the ATP Tour in Brisbane and Auckland.

In Brisbane he pushed Gael Monfils to three sets before losing in the first round. On Tuesday in Auckland, Basavareddy beat Francisco Comesana 6-2, 6-2 and met defending champion Alejandro Tabilo in the second round.

Although he’s now playing against top opponents on a weekly basis and is focused on the first full year of his professional career, Basavareddy likely won’t forget his college days anytime soon. The Carmel, Indiana, native recognizes the role his time at Stanford played in his development.

“When I finished high school I was only 17, so still young, and now with the Challenger wildcards and everything I was able to kind of skip a step and not have to play (ITF World Tennis Tour) Futures Actually,” he explained. “I was able to do a lot of high-level competition over two years in college, so I think it was definitely beneficial because I was able to jump straight into Challengers this summer and go from there.”

“I think that was a big advantage, and it was also a lot of fun meeting a lot of great people.”

Aside from the social joys of college life, Basavareddy will also miss out on another non-athletic perk of being a student-athlete for now: earning a degree. Still, completing his data science degree remains a goal for the American, even if he has to wait until his professional tennis career is over so he doesn’t have to worry about what he left behind.

“While I’m on tour, I won’t study just because Stanford doesn’t allow online classes,” Basavareddy said. “But when I finish, I definitely plan to go back and finish my studies. I still have about 15 months left.

“Obviously becoming a pro is a big step in my life, but knowing I always had college to fall back on helped.” I think that was one of the reasons I went to college in the first place. So I still have that if I ever need a degree or want to do something outside of tennis or want to play after tennis. But since I’m on tour now, I’d say the feeling is more excitement than fear.”