PUNE: India's young women tennis players have produced sparks of brilliance in recent times. They have a chance to step up to the next level when they compete in the AsiaOceania Group 1 competition of the Billie Jean King Cup , starting here on Tuesday.
The Indian women barely managed to stay in the group after finishing fourth in the six-team event, held in China, last year. With Japan and the hosts having advanced to the Qualifiers, this edition presents Vishaal Uppal’s side with the best chance to go through to the playoffs.
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Team captain Uppal, a former Davis Cupper, has led the team to the World Group playoffs in 2020, a first for the Indian women. They lost to Latvia away the following year. Four years on, things couldn’t have been more different.
The highest-ranked player in the field is World No. 41 Lulu Sun from New Zealand. The 23-year-old of mixed heritage caught the attention with her quarterfinal run at the Wimbledon as a qualifier last year, beating then World No. 8 Qinwen Zheng in the first round. Besides Sun, Thailand’s Mananchaya Sawangkaew (world ranked 110) and Lanlana Tararudee (166) as well as Joanna Garland of Chinese Taipei pose a major threat.
“It’s a very even group. If you see the rankings of all the teams, they’re very similar, not much to choose from. So that makes the group very tough and very competitive,” Uppal said.
Changes have swept through the Indian team as well. None of the players is ranked in the top-300, unlike in 2021 when Ankita Raina was 183. The side is also without Karman Kaur Thandi, who had broken into the top-200 in 2018 but is currently unranked owing to a lengthy injury layoff. Yet, Shrivalli Rashmikaa and Sahaja Yamalapalli have kept the hopes alive with some stand-out performances.
There couldn’t have been a stronger fourth singles player than Vaidehee Chaudhari while Prarthana Thombare brings in the much needed experience and solidity as the doubles player.
The Indian women barely managed to stay in the group after finishing fourth in the six-team event, held in China, last year. With Japan and the hosts having advanced to the Qualifiers, this edition presents Vishaal Uppal’s side with the best chance to go through to the playoffs.
Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel.
Team captain Uppal, a former Davis Cupper, has led the team to the World Group playoffs in 2020, a first for the Indian women. They lost to Latvia away the following year. Four years on, things couldn’t have been more different.
The highest-ranked player in the field is World No. 41 Lulu Sun from New Zealand. The 23-year-old of mixed heritage caught the attention with her quarterfinal run at the Wimbledon as a qualifier last year, beating then World No. 8 Qinwen Zheng in the first round. Besides Sun, Thailand’s Mananchaya Sawangkaew (world ranked 110) and Lanlana Tararudee (166) as well as Joanna Garland of Chinese Taipei pose a major threat.
“It’s a very even group. If you see the rankings of all the teams, they’re very similar, not much to choose from. So that makes the group very tough and very competitive,” Uppal said.
Changes have swept through the Indian team as well. None of the players is ranked in the top-300, unlike in 2021 when Ankita Raina was 183. The side is also without Karman Kaur Thandi, who had broken into the top-200 in 2018 but is currently unranked owing to a lengthy injury layoff. Yet, Shrivalli Rashmikaa and Sahaja Yamalapalli have kept the hopes alive with some stand-out performances.
There couldn’t have been a stronger fourth singles player than Vaidehee Chaudhari while Prarthana Thombare brings in the much needed experience and solidity as the doubles player.
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