At simply 15 years outdated, Maaya Rajeshwaran is quickly rising as India’s subsequent huge tennis sensation. The younger prodigy continued her stellar type on the L&T Mumbai Open WTA 125 Sequence, securing a spot within the semifinals on Friday on the prestigious Cricket Membership of India.
Maaya Rajeshwaran Revathi in motion on the WTA 125 occasion in Mumbai on Friday. (HT)(HT_PRINT)
Maaya’s journey within the match has been nothing in need of outstanding. She overcame World No. 264 Nicole Fossa Huergo of Italy in a grueling three-set battle (6–3, 3–6, 6–0) earlier than prevailing in opposition to World No. 434 Jessica Failla of the US (7–6(9), 1–6, 6–4).
With these spectacular wins, she etched her identify in historical past because the youngest Indian ever to earn a WTA level – a milestone that places forth her immense potential.
Granted a qualifying wildcard by the Maharashtra State Garden Tennis Affiliation, Maaya has made essentially the most of her alternative at this WTA 125 occasion, a match that ranks slightly below the elite WTA Tour.
Her type of play – mixing aggressive baseline rallies with exact web play – has drawn comparisons to a few of her idols, together with Serena Williams and Aryna Sabalenka. In her main-draw opener, she shocked World No. 225 Iryna Shymanovich of Belarus with a dominant 6–4, 6–1 victory, exhibiting a stage of maturity effectively past her years.
Born on June 12, 2009, in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, Maaya’s introduction to tennis was nearly unintended – an after-school exercise that rapidly became a ardour on the age of eight. She initially educated underneath former India No. 1 Ok.G. Ramesh earlier than refining her expertise at Professional Serve Tennis Academy underneath the mentorship of coach Manoj Kumar for the previous 5 years.
Regardless of taking part in simply her fifth senior match, Maaya has displayed outstanding confidence and composure, incomes reward from throughout the tennis neighborhood.
Per week-long coaching stint on the Rafa Nadal Academy in Mallorca performed a vital function in her improvement, finally resulting in a year-long contract on the prestigious facility. With plans to relocate to Spain this month, she is poised to raise her sport even additional.
Rajeshwaran additionally watched Nadal practice up shut and private forward of the Spaniard’s look within the Davis Cup Finals final 12 months, which might finally be the final match of his profession.
“It’s one of my most favorite memories,” she mentioned. “Even a man that’s won so much, he’s still got that hunger and that’s really impressive.”