Captain Shalini Chawla, coach Radhika Kanitkar, and physio Ajeeta Goel had arrived earlier, as had Sahaja Yamalapalli and Vaidehi Chaudhari. I am extremely proud and grateful for my 10-year tenure with the Indian team.
It’s been an eye-opening experience. We are familiar with all of the teams and players. It’s just about giving it our all every day, Ankita, 30, explained. Ankita has defeated some of the region’s best players, including Yulia Punitseva, Zhu Lin, Yaroslava Shvedova, Nigina Abduraimova, and Nao Hibino.
When India faced Latvia in the World Group play-off for the first time in 2021, she played a fantastic match against former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko.
Ankita has an 18-16 win-loss record in singles and an 8-6 record in doubles in the competition.
The other teams are China, Japan, Korea, Thailand, and Uzbekistan, and everyone plays in a round-robin format. The top two teams advance to the World Group playoffs, while the bottom two are relegated to Group 2.
The teams are the same as last year. We will give it our all, said Ankita, who has been on a roll on the professional circuit in recent weeks.
I’ve been working hard and playing some good tennis. I’m in better shape than I’ve ever been. The good results have come as a result of specific improvements in the game, Ankita explained.
As Ankita and the girls try to let their racquets do all the talking, it could be an exciting time for Indian women’s tennis.
