Sriram Balaji

Personal life

Sriram was born in Coimbatore to Narayanaswamy and Jayanthi Narayanaswamy. He began playing tennis at age nine and attended Kendriya Vidyalaya and PERKS Matriculation Higher Secondary School in Coimbatore, starting his tennis career at PERKS Tennis Academy.

He trains at Schüttler-Waske Tennis University in Germany. His hobbies include swimming and reading, and his favourite player is Roger Federer. Balaji serves as a Junior Officer in the Indian Army, which supports his sporting pursuits.

Junior career

In November 2002 he represented India at the Nike International Masters Tennis Tournament in Sun City, South Africa, winning three countries and placing ninth in the team event. He was ranked No. 1 nationally in the Under-14 age category from April to September 2004.

Career

Balaji made his ATP main draw debut at the 2012 Aircel Chennai Open in doubles with Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan, losing to second seeds Scott Lipsky and Rajeev Ram. At the 2014 Aircel Chennai Open, partnering Ramkumar Ramanathan, he defeated Lipsky and Ram before losing in the quarterfinals to Marin Draganja and Mate Pavić. He later joined the Mumbai Tennis Masters for the Champions Tennis League India. His first ATP final came at the 2023 Tata Open Maharashtra with Nedunchezhiyan as an alternate pair; they defeated Purav Raja and Divij Sharan, upset second seeds Nathaniel Lammons and Jackson Withrow, and beat Julian Cash and Henry Patten, before losing to Sander Gillé and Joran Vliegen.

At the 2023 Australian Open, he and Nedunchezhiyan defeated fifth seeds Ivan Dodig and Austin Krajicek. He made his French Open debut at the 2023 tournament as an alternate pair with Nedunchezhiyan. At the 2024 French Open, partnering Miguel Ángel Reyes-Varela as an alternate pair, he reached the third round with wins over Sem Verbeek and Reese Stalder, and Théo Arribagé and Dan Added.