Indian tennis team loses 2-1 against New Zealand in opener

The Indian women’s tennis team made a disappointing start to their Billie Jean King Cup 2025 Asia-Oceania Group I campaign after losing 2-1 against New Zealand at the Deccan Gymkhana in Pune on Tuesday.

Shrivalli Bhamidipaty won her singles match but defeats for Sahaja Yamalapalli and the doubles duo of Ankita Raina-Prarthana Thombare saw India lose the tie.

World No. 316 Shrivalli Bhamidipaty gave India a positive start by beating New Zealand’s Aishi Das in the first match of the tie.

Shrivalli Bhamidipaty dominated the unranked Aishi Das from the start and comfortably beat the Kiwi tennis player 6-1, 6-1 in 57 minutes.

However, New Zealand responded strongly in the second singles rubber as world No. 45 Lulu Sun brushed aside Sahaja Yamalapalli, who is 316th in the WTA singles tennis rankings, 6-3, 6-3.

After saving a couple of break points in the opening game of the match, Sahaja Yamalapalli was broken twice in the third and ninth games as she conceded the first set.

The second set followed a similar pattern as Sahaja Yamalapalli lost her serve in the fourth game, allowing Lulu Sun to comfortably take the second set as well.

With the tie level at 1-1, Ankita Raina teamed up with Prarthana Thombare, the top-ranked Indian tennis player in doubles at world No. 140, to face New Zealand’s Monique Barry and Lulu Sun.

Ankita Raina and Prarthana Thombare found themselves playing catch-up from the start after losing their serve in the opening game itself.

Despite holding serve for the rest of the set, they couldn’t break back and lost the opener.

The second set witnessed both pairs drop serves on multiple occasions. Ankita Raina-Prarthana Thombare lost their serve in the third, seventh and ninth games while Monique Barry and Lulu Sun were broken in the fourth and sixth.

However, it was the New Zealand duo who won the match 6-3, 6-4 despite Ankita Raina and Prarthana Thombare saving three match points.

Apart from New Zealand, Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong China, the Republic of Korea and Thailand are the other teams with India in Asia-Oceania Group I.

The Indian women’s tennis team will face Thailand in its next Billie Jean King Cup 2025 Asia-Oceania Group I tie on Wednesday.

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