No Indian-origin boy makes the cut for junior singles.
By Sujeet Rajan
Follow @ambazaarmag
FLUSHING MEADOWS, NEW YORK: Five Indian-origin girls are playing in the main draw of the junior girls singles championship at the 2015 US Open, being played here at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.
It’s an unprecedented number for Indian-origin girls in any previous Grand Slam tournament.
Leading the charge at the US Open are two Indian Americans, Natasha Subhash, 14, and Raveena Kingsley, 17.
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Subhash has been one of the finds of the tournament so far, disposing of two higher ranked players, older and more experienced than her – Mihika Yadav of India, and Olivia Hauger of the US. Hauger was a quarterfinalist at the 2014 Australian Open, and played in the main draw of the 2014 French Open.
Subhash, of Fairfax, Virginia, was one of four US girls given a wild card by the United States Tennis Association (USTA) for the junior girls singles, and she has not disappointed. She will take on the 57th ranked player in the world, Beatrice Torelli of Italy, in her first round match.
Kingsley, of Fulton, Maryland, was given a wild card by the USTA to play in the qualifying rounds of the women’s singles championship too, apart from her making the cut for the junior girls championship.
Kinglsey started well, winning her first qualifying match in the women’s singles, defeating the 30th seed, Andrea Hlavackova of the Czech Republic in straight sets, 6-3, 6-4. Hlavackova had reached a ranking of 58th in the world, in 2012.
In the second and last qualifying match, Kingsley went down fighting in three sets to Tereza Mrdeza of Croatia, 1-6, 6-3, 5-7. Mrdeza has reached a ranking of 151st in the world.
There are two girls from India in the main draw: Pranjala Yadlapalli, 16, who is seeded 15th, and Karman Kaur Thandi, 17.
Another Indian-origin girl is from Australia, Naiktha Bains, 17.
Surprisingly, no Indian-origin boy has made the cut for the junior boys singles at the 2015 US Open.