All set for WTA Mumbai Open
She had received a wild card last year and made her way into quarterfinals.
Mumbai: Ankita Raina has received a direct entry into main round of the second edition of WTA Mumbai Open $125k Series.
She had received a wild card last year and made her way into quarterfinals. Her under 200 WTA ranking (195) made her last entrant into the main draw. The qualifiers of the event will be played on Saturday and Sunday while the main draw is from October 29 to November 4.
Ankita, who had raking of 293 before keeping Indian challenge alive by storming into quarters last year with a spirited display, has climbed the rankings swiftly. She won the bronze medal at the Asian Games in Jakarta in August.
World ranked 47 from China, Zheng Saisai, who won her last WTA title in April, will lead a field of leading players from 19 at Cricket Club of India tennis courts here. The 24-year-old entered into the tournament as Worl No. 57 but has moved ten places ahead of the event.
Russia’s Vera Zvonareva, a former World No. 2, a bronze medalist at the Beijing Olympics and runner-up in 2010 at the Wimbledon and US Open is set to feature this year after missing out due to injury last year. Another former World No. 2, Sabine Lisicki, who was Wimbledon singles runner-up in 2013, losing to Marion Bartoli, a Wimbledon semifinalist in 2011 and has four WTA titles to her credit will also participate.
Last year’s runner-up and World No. 76 Slovenian Dalila Jakupovic will challenge Zheng here along with USA’s World No. 95 Sachia Vickery and Serbia’s World No. 99. Olga Danilovic.