ITF W100 Bengaluru: Ankita Raina fights back

India’s Ankita Raina produced a determined comeback to kick off her campaign in the first round of qualifying at the KPB Trust ITF Women's Open W100 Bengaluru 2026 at the SM Krishna Tennis Stadium on Sunday. 

Ankita Raina battled past Sofia Martianova 5-7, 6-1, 6-4 in a gripping three-set contest to advance to the final round of qualifying. The opening set stayed even until 5-5, when a string of unforced errors handed Martianova the decisive break and the set 7-5. After a medical timeout, Raina returned with renewed aggression, breaking early in the second set and racing through it 6-1 with authoritative baseline play. She carried that momentum into the decider, absorbing a late surge to close out the match 6-4.

Joining her in the final round were sixth-seeded Indian Vaidehee Chaudhari, who defeated wildcard Amodini Naik 6-2, 6-0, and ninth-seeded Indian Zeel Desai, who registered a 6-3, 6-3 win over Sonal Patil.

Second seed Zuzanna Pawlikowska of Poland eased past Ashmitha Easwaramurthi 6-0, 6-4, while third seed Kristiana Sidorova recorded a 6-2, 6-2 victory over Vanshita Pathania. Fifth seed Jasmijn Gimbrere of the Netherlands overcame Bela Tamhankar 6-0, 6-4.

Seventh seed Anastasia Kulikova of Finland defeated Soha Sadiq 6-1, 7-5, eleventh seed Maria Kalyakina outclassed wildcard Ira Tripathi 6-0, 6-1, and twelfth seed Victoria Milovanova cruised past Disha Kumar 6-0, 6-1. Sixteenth seed Evgeniya Burdina also advanced with a 6-3, 6-2 win against Sravya Shivani Chilakalapudi.

Later in the day, top seed Eri Shimizu of Japan is set to face India's Janani Ramesh, alongside other qualifying encounters featuring India's Pooja Ingale against Belgium’s Polina Bakhmutkina, India's Harshini N Nagaraj against Maria Golovina, India's Snigdha Kanta against Arina Gabriela Vasilescu, and an all-Indian clash between Laxmisiri Dandu and Akanksha Dileep Nitture. The final round of qualifying is scheduled for Monday morning, with players vying for the six qualifier spots in the main draw.

Qualifying Round 1 Results:

Ankita Raina (IND) bt Sofia Martianova 5-7, 6-1, 6-4; 6-Vaidehee Chaudhari (IND) bt Amodini Naik (IND) 6-2, 6-0; 9-Zeel Desai (IND) bt Sonal Patil (IND) 6-3, 6-3; 2-Zuzanna Pawlikowska (POL) bt Ashmitha Easwaramurthi (IND) 6-0, 6-4; 11-Maria Kalyakina bt Ira Tripathi (IND) 6-0, 6-1; 3-Kristiana Sidorova bt Vanshita Pathania (IND) 6-2, 6-2; 5-Jasmijn Gimbrere (NED) bt Bela Tamhankar (IND) 6-0, 6-4; 7-Anastasia Kulikova (FIN) bt Soha Sadiq (IND) 6-1, 7-5; 12-Victoria Milovanova bt Disha Kumar (IND) 6-0, 6-1; 16-Evgeniya Burdina bt Sravya Shivani Chilakalapudi (IND) 6-3, 6-2.