Chennai Open 2026 Qualifying: 14-year-old Jensi takes a set off fifth seed; all four Indians crash out
(Courtesy : Chennai Open)
The main draw of the WTA 250 was also held on Saturday
Four Indians featured in the Chennai Open 2026 qualifying draw, with 14-year-old wild card Jensi Kanabar putting up a strong fight against fifth seed Weronika Falkowska of Poland before bowing out in three sets at the SDAT Tennis Stadium Nungambakkam Chennai.
After conceding the opening set comfortably, Jensi found her rhythm in the second, matching her experienced opponent shot for shot. The young Indian showed considerable composure to eventually convert her sixth set point and level the match.
However, Falkowska steadied her game in the decider and held off two break points at 4-3 before taking control. Jensi, who had raced to a 40-0 lead while serving, was unable to close out the game, allowing the Pole to seal the contest.
Indian wild card Diya Ramesh also put up a good fight against second seed Kyoka Okamura of Japan, but the experienced Japanese player kept her composure to register a straight-set victory.
The other two Indians in qualifying, Shrivalli Bhamidipaty and Zeel Desai, also bowed out against fourth seed Viktoria Morvayova and third seed Mei Yamaguchi respectively.
The singles main-draw ceremony was held on Saturday in the presence of Vijay Amritraj, President of the Tamil Nadu Tennis Association (TNTA), with tournament supervisor Sheetal Iyer conducting the draw.
Defending champion and top seed Janice Tjen of Indonesia headlines the 32-player field, while three Indians, Vaishnavi Adkar, Sahaja Yamalapalli and Maaya Rajeshwaran Revathi, have been awarded wild cards.
Adkar is the highest-ranked Indian in the draw at World No. 334, followed by Yamalapalli at World No. 369. The remaining four places in the main draw will be decided after the final round of qualifying on Sunday.
Austria’s Lilli Tagger is seeded second, followed by Poland’s Magda Linette at third and Hungary’s Panna Udvardy at fourth.
Thailand’s Mananchaya Sawangkaew is the fifth seed, while Uzbekistan’s Polina Kudermetova, Serbia’s Teodora Kostovic and Poland’s Katarzyna Kawa occupy the sixth, seventh and eighth seed positions respectively.
In doubles, Rutuja Bhosale returns after reaching the semi-finals last year and will partner Vaishnavi Adkar. India will have four pairings featuring its players, including wild-card entries Diya Ramesh and Deepshika Vinayagamurthy, Shrivalli Bhamidipaty and Maaya Rajeshwaran Revathi, and Ankita Raina, who will partner Japan’s Hiroko Kuwata.
Chennai Open 2026 qualifying results
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- [1] A. Falei (BLR) def. E. Yashina (RUS) 6-1, 6-4
- [6] R. Zolotareva (RUS) def. M. Tkacheva (RUS) 6-1, 2-1 (RET)
- [2] K. Okamura (JPN) def. [WC] D. R. Ramesh (IND) 6-4, 6-2
- [8] M. Kobori (JPN) def. R. Matsuda (JPN) 6-4, 6-0
- [3] M. Yamaguchi (JPN) def. Z. Desai (IND) 6-1, 6-0
- Z. Kulambayeva (KAZ) def. [7] Y. Kotliar (UKR) 6-2, 6-3
- [4] V. Morvayova (SVK) def. S. Bhamidipaty (IND) 6-2, 6-3
- [5] W. Falkowska (POL) def. [WC] J. Dipakbhai Kanabar (IND) 6-2, 5-7, 6-3
Which Indians were in action in the qualifying round of WTA Chennai Open 2026?
Jensi Kanabar, Diya Ramesh, Shrivalli Bhamidipaty and Zeel Desai were in action on Saturday. All four lost their matches.
Which Indian will be in action in the main draw of WTA Chennai Open 2026?
Vaishnavi Adkar, Sahaja Yamalapalli, and Maaya Rajeshwaran Revathi will play in singles; all three have received wild-card entries. In doubles, Rutuja Bhosale-Vaishnavi Adkar, Diya Ramesh and Deepshika Vinayagamurthy, Shrivalli Bhamidipaty and Maaya Rajeshwaran Revathi, and Ankita Raina, who will partner Japan’s Hiroko Kuwata, will be in action.
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