Growing up sports was definitely not on his radar, and he wasn’t interested in pursuing it, but thankfully his father put a tennis racket in his hands and got him onto the court. Nowadays, Holliston sophomore Nayan Alluri is making his mark on the courts and moving his way up the Panthers’ depth chart on the tennis team.

“It was around the fourth grade when my dad made me play tennis,” Alluri said. “I wasn’t into sports, but he pushed me to play, and eventually, I was enjoying the sport and wanted to get better.”

Now, Aluri is a two-sport athlete, also running track in the winter for conditioning purposes to get ready for the spring tennis season.

The summer prior to his entering eight grade, a revelation came to him, and he realized that he should focus more on his tennis career and improve upon his skills as high school was right around the corner. That summer, he participated in tennis club with different towns and coaches to bring his game up to the next level to be ready to try out for the high school team.

“I knew the high school team was not that great, only one win, so there would be opportunities,” he said. “During my freshman year, I really wasn’t sure of what to expect. I was definitely nervous, as I had never tried out for a sport before.”

Alluri made the team, and although he was hoping that he’d be a starter for the Panthers, he knew that there was a lot of talent on the Holliston roster, so he really wasn’t sure what was going to happen. 

Coach Jay Dupuis would slot the freshman primarily as seconds doubles players with an occasional first doubles opportunity. That year, the first-year varsity player basically went about his business on the court, but when he wasn’t involved in a game, he was watching the older kids who were playing singles and absorbing whatever he could from their play.

According to the Holliston Coach, Alluri was a very dynamic young player who was battling to move up the team rankings. As part of the Holliston doubles team, he was able to go 10-5 last spring. Although having a partner helped him to improve his games, his goal was to become a singles player his sophomore campaign, a place that he believes he would thrive.

With the graduation of the seniors and a few upper classmen not returning, the young racket wielder knew that he had a shot at making his dream come true. Dupuis moved Alluri out of doubles play this year and inserted Alluri into third singles where, at the time of this writing, was 4-2.

“As a singles player, I wanted to go out and do my best and help the team succeed and hopefully go onto the tournament,” Alluri said. “This year, I feel more knowledgeable on the court, but I am continuing to learn each day.”

Last year, Holliston went 9-5 on the season and made its way into the Division 3 State Tournament as the eighth seed advancing into the Elite 8, where they would ultimately fall to the number one and eventual Division 3 State Champion, Bedford.

Having made his way into the singles rotation, Alluri would love to keep improving his game and move further on up the ladder.

“As one of our top three singles players, he brings a talent to the court,” the Panther Coach said. “He has a very good all-around game, and I am excited to see him continue to develop his skills over the next three seasons.”

While his coaching is looking to see what he can do next, Alluri is hoping that he can become a role model to the younger tennis players on the team , much like the seniors did to him as a freshman. Not only the help in his game, but also the little things, like giving car rides and creating team bonds.

Although it is still 2-plus years before Alluri gets to walk across the stage to receive his diploma, his ultimate goal on the tennis court would be to continue to improve so that he can take that  next step and play the game he was pushed into on a higher level. However, only time will tell if he improves his skills to be able to accomplish such a feat.

For Holliston sophomore Nayan Alluri, a push toward tennis turned out to be the right direction. Photos by and used courtesy of Jay Dupuis