National Tennis Championship: Siddharth Vishwakarma, Rashmikaa emerge champions

Rashmika defeated title holder Vaidhee Chaudhari.

Uttar Pradesh’s Siddharth Vishwakarma and Telangana’s Rashmikaa S Bhamidipaty extended their startling form to clinch the titles in their respective categories in the 28th National Tennis Championship 2023 at the DLTA Complex in New Delhi on Saturday.

Siddharth pulled off a stunning come-from-behind 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory against Haryana's Karan Singh, while Rashmikaa registered a thrilling 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 win over defending champion Vaidhee Chaudhari of Gujarat.

The third seed took his time to settle in the men’s singles final before unleashing his powerful shots and precise backhands that saw him securing the title for the second time in his career. Siddharth's first National title came in 2018 and now he looks forward to an exciting run on the circuit.

“It’s a great feeling to become the champion again after five years. I worked hard for this and want to thank Ratan Sharma sir my coach who has been a great support to me in my career. I am now ready for the upcoming tournaments on the circuit,” commented Siddharth.

The winners received glittering trophies along with exciting cash rewards as the prize ceremony was attended by Saket Jain, Executive Director and Business Head of Fenesta Building Systems (a division of DCM Shriram Ltd.) and DLTA President Rohit Rajpal along with other officials.

With a total prize pool of over INR 21.5 lakh up for grabs along with kit allowance in the junior categories, the champions of men's and women's singles categories took home trophy and INR 3 lakh each while the runners-up were awarded with trophy and INR 2 lakh.

The women’s singles title match also went down to the third set where Rashmikaa held her nerves before winning the title for the first time.

National Tennis Championship—organised by DCM Shriram Ltd., a leading business conglomerate, under the aegis of All India Tennis Association and Delhi Lawn Tennis Association, has witnessed the participation of renowned Indian tennis players such as Rohan Bopanna, Somdev Devvarman, Yuki Bhambri, Sania Mirza and Rutuja Bhosale in the past editions. It is India’s biggest domestic tennis tournament.

Rashmikaa stated, “Playing in Nationals this year has been an amazing experience. I played a close friend in the final and think we had a tough fight on the court, the competition between us was great. The last game could have been anyone’s but I held my nerves better and it’s great to be the champion.”

Meanwhile, Uttar Pradesh’s Rushil Khosla shone on the court as he defeated Samarth Sahita of Maharashtra 6-3, 6-3 in straight sets to clinch the boys’ U-18 singles title.

Aishwarya Jadhav of Maharashtra won the girls’ U-18 singles trophy after beating Suhitha Maruri (Karnataka) 6-3, 1-6, 6-3 in a thrilling three-set final.