Ankita, Rashmika to lead home challenge in ITF W50 in Delhi

India's top singles stars Ankita Raina and Rashmika Shrivalli Bhamidipaty will headline the home challenge at the ITF W50 tournament in New Delhi, where Karman Kaur Thandi will return to competitive tennis after a one-year break.

Known for her fighting spirit, a gritty Raina, ranked 286 in the world, had moderate results in the 2024 season and would aim to do better. She had done well on the ITF circuit, making four semifinals and a number of quarterfinals.

Rashmika, India's number three singles player at number 330, will also aim for a good start to the season after ending the year 2024 with two ITF finals towards the end of the year.

The tall Karman Kaur Thandi has been handed a wild card along with former national champion Riya Bhatiya. Thandi skipped the entire 2024 season right after getting married to Gurjant Singh, a key member of the Indian national hockey team.

Karman would need to shake off the initial rust to go deep in the draw while Riya too has a good opportunity to make the right moves after being given the wild card entry.

"Karman has shown her potential. Now that she wants to rejoin the circuit, we wanted to help her and that's why the wild card for her. We are aware of her class and it's our job to support our key players. Riya has also shown promise," DLTA President Rohit Rajpal said.

The singles field is quite competitive with world number 119 Darja Semenistaja being the highest-ranked player in the main draw. Hungary's Panna Udvardy (155), Brazil's Laura Pigossi (160), Briton Lily Yuriko Miyazaki (182) and Italy's Giorgia Pedone (194) are the top-200 players in the field.