Niroop Vallabhaneni is a six-foot, blue chip recruit from Paradise Valley, Ariz. At the age of 16, he was ranked 150th by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and claimed a doubles title at the USTA 16s National Championship in Kalamazoo. Vallabhaneni was a U.S. Open participant in 2018 and ranked as high as fourth in the 2019 recruiting class.
"Niroop's game is built on consistency, but he has been adding weapons to create an all-court style," Smith said. "He has great feel to finish points at the net and has also had success on the doubles court."
Born in Colorado, Vallabhaneni moved to Arizona with his mom and began playing tennis at the age of seven. When he was 12, Vallabhaneni moved to Florida to work with his coach, Shariq Khan. He has also worked with Sebastien Grosjean who was No. 4 in the ATP singles rankings at the height of his career.
"I had offers from the best tennis schools as well as the best academic schools, but Duke's combination is what appealed to me," Vallabhaneni said. "The coaching staff is amazing. When I asked for advice during the recruiting process, my coaches and others had nothing but amazing things to say about Coach Ramsey and Coach Stokke. I couldn't be more excited to be a Blue Devil."
Battling back from a wrist injury, Vallabhaneni has posted a 7-3 record in 2020. When asked about the best advice he's ever received, he said "trust the process."
The son of Raj Vallabhaneni and Bindu Chaparala, Niroop was born on May 28, 2002. He has one younger sibling, Siona, who is 13. Vallabhaneni attended Laurel Spring High School online – based out of Ojai, Calif., where he was an honor roll member all four years while earning Dean's List as a junior and senior.
"Niroop's game is built on consistency, but he has been adding weapons to create an all-court style," Smith said. "He has great feel to finish points at the net and has also had success on the doubles court."
Born in Colorado, Vallabhaneni moved to Arizona with his mom and began playing tennis at the age of seven. When he was 12, Vallabhaneni moved to Florida to work with his coach, Shariq Khan. He has also worked with Sebastien Grosjean who was No. 4 in the ATP singles rankings at the height of his career.
"I had offers from the best tennis schools as well as the best academic schools, but Duke's combination is what appealed to me," Vallabhaneni said. "The coaching staff is amazing. When I asked for advice during the recruiting process, my coaches and others had nothing but amazing things to say about Coach Ramsey and Coach Stokke. I couldn't be more excited to be a Blue Devil."
Battling back from a wrist injury, Vallabhaneni has posted a 7-3 record in 2020. When asked about the best advice he's ever received, he said "trust the process."
The son of Raj Vallabhaneni and Bindu Chaparala, Niroop was born on May 28, 2002. He has one younger sibling, Siona, who is 13. Vallabhaneni attended Laurel Spring High School online – based out of Ojai, Calif., where he was an honor roll member all four years while earning Dean's List as a junior and senior.
Comments