Nithin Reddy knows the gauntlet he faces Tuesday.
Odessa High’s No. 1 singles player and the only ECISD tennis player to advance to the Region I-6A Regional tournament, Reddy understands the long odds of making it to the UIL State Championships.
Odds that he’s battled and overcome in the recent past.
Advancing to the Boys Singles championship match at the District 2-6A Championships on March 31 at the Bush Tennis Center, Reddy faced Andre Perez of Midland Legacy.
Perez earned a hard-fought 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 victory in the title match, but Reddy wasn’t done for the day.
Wolfforth Frenship’s Preston Lowder won the third-place match and since he and Reddy had not faced each other in the tournament, Lowder had the chance to take Reddy’s regional qualifying spot.
With his Bronchos’ teammates cheering every shot, Reddy made quick work of the playback with a 6-0, 6-1 whitewashing to book a second straight trip to the regional tournament.
“It meant a lot,” Reddy said of the team’s support. “They were always cheering for me and that motivated me to do well.
“I’m pretty relaxed; I’m just here to have fun and see how well I do. I’m just sad that my senior year is coming to an end.”
He didn’t find out who his first-round opponent would be until Monday evening at the tournament draw but, after competing at the tournament in 2022, knows that many of his possible opponents will have plenty of private coaching in their backgrounds.
Reddy is no stranger to championship pressure, having paired with Blake Carney at Midland Trinity in 2021 to reach the TAPPS Class 4A State Championships, winning a first-round match before losing in the quarterfinals.
He chose to transfer to Odessa High before his junior year to enroll in the school’s International Baccalaureate (IB) program.
Reddy didn’t play much during his junior season as he was getting acclimated to the size of the school and the academics, which he admitted were much tougher than at Trinity.
Ready was ready to take charge of the Bronchos’ program, however, when the 2022-23 season rolled around.
Playing No. 1 singles and No. 1 doubles throughout the Fall and Spring, he also has been focused on developing the friendships with his teammates throughout the year.
Win or lose, this is his final season of competitive tennis as he plans to focus on academics in college, joining a club team wherever he goes to school.
Reddy also has gotten out to the community and, along with his father, Dr. Punaepalli Sridhar Reddy, put together the “Bynum and Buddies Tennis Tournament” last August at the Bush Tennis Center and helped raise $5,000 for the Bynum School.
The school is the Permian Basin’s only year-round facility specializing in teaching special needs students (ages 3 to adult).
Reddy is prepping to host another event.
“It was a lot of fun,” he said. “We are going to do another one this summer and I’d like to possibly do two a year.
“When I volunteered at the hospital where my father works (MCH) last year, I learned a lot and found out there are more jobs in the hospital than I realized. And I was interested in the work the school was doing.”
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