Second seed Ankita Raina’s campaign in the $40,000 ITF women’s tennis tournament in Lopota, Georgia, came to an end in the first round. The Indian star fell to Daria Kudashova of Russia in a hard-fought three-set battle, losing 6-4, 4-6, 7-6(5).
Raina started the match strongly, taking the first set 6-4. However, Kudashova fought back in the second set, winning it 6-4. The third set was a nail-biter, with both players trading blows. In the end, it was Kudashova who prevailed in the tiebreaker, winning 7-6(5).
Despite the loss, Raina showed her fighting spirit and determination throughout the match. She also made it to the doubles quarterfinals, partnering with Snehal Mane. The Indian duo defeated Christine Gouws of South Africa and Georgia Kalamaris of France 6-1, 6-1.
In other results from the tournament, Kai Wehnelt of Germany defeated Manas Dhamne of India 7-5, 6-2 in the first round of the $25,000 ITF men’s event in Margherita di Pula, Italy. In the $15,000 ITF men’s tournament in Monastir, Tunisia, the doubles pair of Samir Reguig and Mohamed Makhlouf of Algeria defeated Abraham Asaba of Ghana and Karan Singh of India 6-7(2), 7-6(4), [10-7] in the pre-quarterfinals.
In the $15,000 ITF women’s tournament in Kursumlijska Banja, Serbia, the doubles team of Michaela Bayerlova of the Czech Republic and Wakana Sonnobe of Japan defeated Kiara Cvetkovic of Switzerland and Annika Kannan of India 6-1, 6-0 in the pre-quarterfinals. In the $15,000 ITF women’s tournament in Antalya, Turkey, the doubles pair of Sofya Gapankova and Varvara Pansshina defeated Florencia Moron of Argentina and Bela Tamhankar of India 6-1, 6-1 in the pre-quarterfinals.
In the $15,000 ITF women’s tournament in Monastir, Tunisia, Vaishnavi Adkar defeated Liu Le Yi of China 7-6(3), 6-1 in the first round, while Zeel Desai defeated Merna Refaat of Egypt 6-1, 5-7, 6-1.
