Tennis
Bengaluru Open 2026: Vaishnavi Adkar upsets second seed to reach maiden W100 final
The 21-year-old registered her third consecutive win against a much higher-ranked player to continue her dream run at home.
Vaishnavi Adkar advances to her maiden W100 Final at the Bengaluru Open 2026. (Photo credit: Rhine-Ruhr 2025)
India’s Vaishnavi Adkar took down world No 126 Lanlana Tarundee of Thailand to register the biggest win of her career yet and advance to the 2026 ITF Bengaluru Open W100 event on Saturday.
She stunned the second seeded opponent 6-3, 6-3 in a hour and 7-minute-long semifinal at the S.M. Krishna Tennis Stadium.
Having entered the tournament as a wildcard, Adkar has now beaten three seeded players consecutively to reach her first ITF W100 final.
Earlier, she had defeated world No. 148 and fourth seed Taylah Preston 6-3, 1-6, 6-4 in a pulsating quarter-final, recording her first-ever win over a Top 150 player.
The World University Games medalist has not won any ITF title since 2024 and will be hoping to bag her second title on Sunday in front of a home crowd.
Her semi-final match began on a tense note. Adkar was under pressure just on her second serve, but she saved the break point and then won two breaks later to take the opening set comfortably at 6-3.
In the second set, she had an early lead, winning her first break point in the fourth game, but then the score levelled back in the very next game as she returned the favour.
However, she bounced strongly and won another break point in the sixth game, and managed to keep her lead and close out the match.