Manas Dhamne was only 12 when his family decided to make a bold move of funding his training in Italy. It began with small stints of a couple of weeks that turned into months and eventually stretched to a full-time move.
While Manas relocated with his mother to train at the Piatti Tennis Center in Bordighera, his father and sister stayed back in India.
Last week, an 18-year-old Manas reached the first ATP Challenger final of his career in Shymkent. He eventually lost to Belgium’s Buvaysar Gadamauri 6-7(8), 4-6 in a closely contested title clash, but it wasn’t before becoming the first Indian since Sumit Nagal in 2024 to reach a Challenger-level final.
It was a performance which will see Manas break into top 400 of the ATP rankings for the first time. But for him, the numbers and ranking are only a byproduct.
“At the moment, my main goal is to keep improving as a person and as a player,” said Manas in a media interaction. “My coach and I talk a lot about this.
“We believe ranking is a consequence of the level you reach. So right now, the focus isn’t on rankings, but on growth. If I keep improving in all aspects, the rankings will take care of themselves,” he further asserted.
Manas’ maturity is clearly visible in how he handles himself on and off the court, a lot of which he credits his Indian roots for.
“The way I’ve been brought up — calm and composed — helps me stay controlled during tough moments. At the same time, sometimes I feel I’m too calm, and maybe a bit more aggression could help in tight matches,” he said.
Despite the success in Shymkent, the teenager from Pune knows he still has a long road ahead to climb to the elite level.
“Physically, my fitness has improved the most. Some of it comes naturally as you grow, but we’re also working hard on it,” he said.
“Tennis-wise, I’m doing the same things but executing them better. I’m also trying to be more aggressive and take more chances.”
Manas has also been working closely with fitness trainer Dalibor Širola, who is currently travelling on tour with Novak Djokovic, and fitness coach Leandro Serafini, who has worked extensively with Daniil Medvedev in a bid to level up.
“We’re focusing a lot on strength, especially explosive strength, not just lifting weights,” he said.
“We also work on movement, especially sliding on clay, and a lot on injury prevention. That’s been important — staying healthy and being able to compete week after week,” he added.
When the Dhamne family uprooted themselves from Pune, splitting into two, for their adolescent child’s tennis career, it was a gamble like another.
“For sure, it wasn’t easy for me or my family. I moved in with my mother, so it was equally difficult for her. I have an elder sister and my dad, so we were kind of split — two of us in Italy and two back in India. That separation wasn’t easy,” Manas said.
“But it was a decision we took together as a family, something we all believed in. It took a few months to adjust, but now we’re used to it. This is our life, and we’ve settled into it,” he added.
The family survived the long-distance and the results of their sacrifice have finally begun to reflect in Manas’ performance.
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