, April 17 (IANS) India s top-ranked singles tennis player Ankita Raina and young Karman Kaur Thandi lost their opening matches in the Billie Jean King Cup play-off tie to Latvia s Jelena Ostapenko and Anastasija Sevastova, respectively to .
Latvia Tennis
India’s first ever World Group Playoffs appearance in the Billie Jean King Cup, after having qualified in Asia/Oceania in March 2020 at the erstwhile Fed Cup, is a mismatch by almost all the regular parameters.
Latvia’s top-ranked singles player Anastasija Sevastova is ranked 47 in the world with a career best ranking of world No 11. Their No 2 is Jelena Ostapenko, the 2017 breakthrough French Open champion, ranked 52.
At the other end, India No 1, Ankita Raina, has a career best ranking of 160 while Karman Kaur Thandi is currently ranked 621 and is still on the comeback trail after a long injury layoff. Both are yet to play a singles main draw Grand Slam match.
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BJK Cup: Indian team leaves for Latvia tie
Fri, Apr 09 2021 04:12:01 PM
New Delhi, Apr 9 (IANS): Four members of the Indian women s tennis team Rutuja Bhosle, Zeel Desai and Karman Kaur Thandi, along with reserve Riya Bhatia will leave for Latvia s capital Riga on Friday for the Billie Jean King Cup on April 16-17.
The Indian team captain, Vishal Uppal tweeted, Exciting times for Women s Tennis in India. Look forward to uniting with the whole team in Latvia!
The All India Tennis Association (AITA) on Friday posted pictures of the team on social media with the players and the coach posing wearing face masks.
Billie Jean King Cup preview: India confident of fight ahead of first ever World Group Play-offs tie
India will play Latvia in Jurmala and captain Vishal Uppal is confident his team will put up a strong fight against the much higher-ranked opponents. (L-R) Rutuja Bhosale, Vishal Uppal, Zeel Desai and Radhika Tulpule Kanitkar ahead of their departure | AITA
Indian players won’t be affected by the reputation of higher-ranked Latvians and play a fearless brand of tennis, captain Vishal Uppal said on Friday, confident that his team can take the fight their formidable opponents in their upcoming Billie Jean King Cup tie.