Sweat pelted the pavement on court one of the Louisiana State University Tennis Complex as the Louisiana heat collided with hours of grueling tennis. Florida men’s tennis sophomore Adhithya Ganesan found himself trailing early after dropping the first set 6-1 to Louisiana State. As a bead of sweat hung from his brow, Ganesan realized he needed to dig deep to power across the finish line.
“Every point I won, I was getting loud, just fighting,” Ganesan said. “The guy was playing ridiculous in the first set.”
After edging out a deuce-filled second set 6-3, Ganesan pushed onward to a 6-2 victory in set three, giving Florida a much-needed advantage in its fourth straight conference road win.
“I was down 6-1, started the second set, a lot of deuce points, barely got through it,” he said. “I wasn’t playing my best, but I still was able to find a way to win.”
Before coming to Gainesville, Ganesan found his love for the game in Clarksburg, Maryland. The soon-to-be blue chip prospect began playing on the courts near his home at 4 years old and took a liking to the game’s dual-natured balance of mentality and physicality.
“I like it because you have to problem-solve on-court,” he said. “It’s just yourself. You have to find a way, even if you’re not playing well.”
Ganesan began playing tournaments by the age of 12. As he improved, he opted to try his hand at international tennis tournaments when he was 15. It quickly became apparent Ganesan was skilled after collecting 10 ITF Juniors Titles and reaching an ITF Junior Ranking of No. 24.
“When I was 11 years old, I was playing a lot of national matches: 12-and-unders, 14-and-unders,” he said. “I think a lot of those guys are playing college or pro now, so I think at that time, I knew that I had the level to play college tennis.”
Before UF, Ganesan captured the J100 Sobota in June 2023. He also picked up title wins in the J200 Nagoya, J100 Hong Kong, J200 Hong Kong and J200 Kuala Lumpur over a monthlong span.
The Maryland native is no slouch in doubles either, snagging doubles titles in the J300 College Park, J500 Osaka and J200 Kuala Lumpur in 2023.
Less than three weeks after his dominant stretch in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Florida announced its acquisition of the incoming freshman. After proving himself in international play and solidifying himself as a top Juniors player, Ganesan decided to forgo his commitment to Cornell University and sign with Florida, citing the program’s fair weather, athletic facilities and decorated history as factors in his decision.
“Campus is beautiful, the facilities were really good, so it’s kind of what made me choose Florida,” he said. “I knew some of the guys on the team before I committed, so I talked to them and the coaches.”
Ganesan entered his first year at UF in the spring semester, missing months of fall practice and competition before the 2023-24 season. The new recruit was barely fazed by the rigor of collegiate tennis and kicked off the season by capturing five straight singles wins, all in straight sets. Ganesan dominated in doubles alongside then-sophomore Tanapatt Nirundorn, capturing seven wins in their first nine doubles matches.
However, the freshman couldn’t maintain momentum, failing to win a singles match in February and losing four of his next five contests after his blistering start to the season.
An abdominal injury limited his ability on the court for the remainder of the season. When his freshman year came to an end, Ganesan tallied an 8-8 singles record, which came primarily on the No. 3 court, and a 9-5 record in doubles.
In his second season at UF, Ganesan got back to work under UF coach Adam Steinberg. He was determined to build on the flashes of promise he showed both before Florida and in his freshman season, he said.
Ganesan honed his physicality and conditioning with a renewed focus while fostering a positive mindset, allowing him to embrace the challenge of leading the team.
“I improved a lot physically, got a lot stronger, more conditioned compared to my freshman year,” he said. “My freshman year, I was more quiet and reserved, and this year, I was able to get out of my shell and show more energy on-court and be louder and connect with the teammates.”
Ganesan’s growth can also be attributed to Steinberg’s philosophy of positivity and on-court presence that helped fuel his training, energy and poise on the court.
“[Steinberg] focuses more on how we express ourselves on the court, how we carry ourselves, kind of being more positive and staying with the team,” Ganesan said. “He’s kind of more aggressive-minded: ‘Come to the net more,’ playing ‘bigger tennis,’ quicker points, as well.”
Steinberg helped instill a deeper confidence in Ganesan that transformed his game and bolstered his role on the team in his second year at UF. Ganesan took over the No. 1 singles court and led a young Florida team at the highest level.
“He really became confident, and he developed a belief that he could play and beat anybody in the country,” Steinberg said. “He did not have that early on. Every time he stepped on the court the last half of the season, he played with a real belief, a confidence.”
Ganesan posted an impressive 13-8 singles record in his second year, winning against eight ranked opponents. After defeating Middle Tennessee State’s No. 98 Karim Al-Amin, Southern Methodist’s No. 70 Trevor Svajda, Alabama’s No. 59 Roan Jones and Kentucky’s No. 69 Antoine Ghibaudo within the first two months of the season, the Maryland native earned a singles rank of No. 95 in the ITA Collegiate Tennis Rankings.
Ganesan knocked off top opponents in grueling battles and toppled No. 43 Miguel Perez Pena from Georgia and No. 25 Alex Kotzen from Tennessee in back-to-back matches in early April, earning himself a bolstered singles ranking of No. 43.
By the season’s end, the sophomore reached a career-high ITA singles ranking of No. 41 and picked up wins over South Florida’s No. 66 Hugo Car and Central Florida’s No. 63 Yassine Dlimi in Florida’s final two matches of the season in the NCAA Tournament.
“He started to play the right way because of that [confidence], and he had a great year for us at No. 1,” Steinberg said. “I think he’s one of the better No. 1s in the SEC and in the country, in my opinion.”
Ganesan posted a 10-6 doubles record and briefly reached a doubles ranking of No. 68 alongside Nirundorn after defeating the nation’s No. 9-ranked doubles pairing in Auburn’s Will Nolan and Billy Blaydes.
Ganesan received praise for his leadership and work ethic among his teammates. Rising junior Henry Jefferson noted that Ganesan’s a special character, an exceptionally good tennis player and has “game,” he said.
“He doesn’t always lead with his voice, but he definitely leads with his effort and his commitment to tennis,” Jefferson said. “He’s come out of his shell a little bit this year with the whole energy and team stuff, which we do need from him, especially playing court one.”
If there’s one hallmark of the Florida men’s tennis team under Steinberg, it’s winning as a team. For Ganesan, the best moments as a Gator haven’t been about his personal wins, but those shared with his teammates.
“Any time we won 4-3, a close match, it’s different,” he said. “The feeling is a lot different. I don’t see it when I’m playing pro tournaments and I’m winning by myself, so winning as a team is just a lot better.”
Contact Curan Ahern at cahern@alligator.com. Follow him on X at @CuranAhern.
Curan is the men's tennis beat reporter and a second-year journalism sports & media major. He enjoys spending his free time with pets, at the beach and fishing.
