DHAKSHINESWAR SURESH
INDIA'S DISCOVERY IN TENNIS
Dhakshineswar Suresh is India's newest Davis Cup star. A late bloomer, at 26, mid career by tennis standards, he is beginning his journey in professional tennis.
6 ft 6 in tall, Dhakshineswar had to battle a debilitating lower back injury. It had cost him two crucial years of his career. He had managed to outwit the disability through physiotherapy. He reflects, "It was 30 weeks of torture. Those days were awful."
In the Davis Cup fixture against Netherlands in 2026, India could sail through because he had won his two singles matches and on account of his excellent performance in the doubles. His coach, Tony Bresky, revealed, "He's got an explosive game. a very big serve, a big forehand and he comes to the net a lot. He has great hands too, which made him stand out in the doubles."
Dhakshinaswar dreams of breaking into the top 250 at first. It would earn him a place in the qualifying draws of the Grand Slams. His ambitions extend beyond that. "The next step is the top 100. That would be a big achievement. I have big dtreams. But obviously it's very very tough in tennis. I'll take it step by step."
If there is one thing that Dhakshineswar understands, it's the distance between adversity and achievement.
He had travelled that path - the years 2018,2019 and the pandemic were brutal - in mind, body and tennis. It took him from a debilitating lower back injury - a disc bulge - that left him unable to sit or stand for 30 weeks, to serving aces to seal India's Davis Cup tie.
Suresh, his father, had been a former third division cricketer from Dindigul. He was a part time actor as well. Suresh sold his cable TV business at Dindgul and shifted the family of three - himself, Bano, his wife and Dhakshineswar to Chennai. He perceived his son had to be there for a solid future.
They survived at the city because Bano had found a job as an accountant. She was the sole breadwinner for the family, while Suresh was taking care of their son's venture into tennis and tournaments.
Suresh had introduced his son to tennis with the belief that he should "shine individually."
He says, " When he was born, I told my wife in the hospital itself that our son wasn't going to be a doctor or an engineer, he was going to be a sportsman."
Ten years ago he was spotted in a camp organised for players by Somdev Devvarman, who had turned to coaching aftter climbing to career high ranking of 62. He was struck by Dakshineswar's work ethic. The hard yards didnot scare him. At 16, he was competing with professionals in the camp. He had even outperformed them in some of the drills. It was at Somdev's insistence, "Uncle, better send him to college. You don't have a penny in your pocket and he needs to grow as player," Suresh was convinced to send his son to US.
Dakshineswar had joined the Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina for his graduate studies and to further his prospects in tennis.
According to him, he has improved a lot as a player over the past four years.
He reminisces, "I have seen how it works. That's why I'll be based in the US. It'll definitely help me become a better player."
There is no visible rush in his approach. But he exhibits a quiet conviction that his path does not have to mirror anyone else's timeline.
Tennis in India had all time greats, Ramanathan Krishnan, Ramesh Krishnan, Vijay Amritraj and many others. They had taken the country forward when they were on the court. Their departure had left India with a persistent dearth of talent on the world stage.
Dakshineswar Suresh has the makings to be their worthy successor.
He is an eye opener to the teeming millions in India who struggle to do well in life.
Prajwal Hegde in The Times of India of 23 June 2026 raises the question,"Can India's late-blooming giant crack tennis's top 100?"
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