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India’s top-ranked tennis star, Ankita Raina, will lead a strong five-member squad for the 2024 edition of the Billie Jean Cup. The All-India Tennis Association (AITA) announced the squad on Friday, March 1.
India are set to take part in the Asia-Oceania Group 1 games of the tournament to be played from April 8 to 13 in Changsha.
The focus will be on Raina, who advanced to the second round of the Australian Open 2024 women’s singles qualifiers. The 31-year-old star recently played in ITF India 06A where she lost to South Korea’s Yeon Woo Ku in straight sets in the semifinals. Raina is currently ranked No.226 in the world.
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Shrivalli Bhamidipaty, Rutuja Bhosale, and Prarthana Thombare are the other three members of the power-packed Indian squad. Last year, Bhosale won the gold medal at the Asian Games in Hangzhou while partnering the legendary Rohan Bopanna in the mixed doubles event.
Currently ranked No.329 in the world, Yamalapalli recently pulled off an upset after beating World No.115 Darja Semenistaja and World No.89 Kayla Day. She made her way through to the quarterfinals of ITF India 06A, where she lost to Dalila Jakupovic of Slovenia.
Bhamidipaty, on the other hand, played against Australian 2023 girls singles champion Alina Korneeva, at the Mumbai Open. Before that, she took down World No.81 Nao Hibino in the same tournament. She will go into the Billie Jean King Cup after playing in the ITF India 06A earlier this week.
Vaidehi Chaudhari, ranked No.498 in the WTA singles, has been named in the reserves. Shalini Thakur Chawla and Radhika Kanitkar are the captain and coach of the Indian team respectively.
India squad for Billie Jean Cup 2024
Squad: Ankita Raina, Sahaja Yamalapalli, Shrivalli Bhamidipaty, Rutuja Bhosale, and Prarthana Thombare.
Reserve player: Vaidehi Chaudhari
Captain: Shalini Thakur Chawla
Coach: Radhika Kanitkar
