Sahaja awarded wild card for WTA Mumbai Open

Mumbai, Jan 28 (PTI) India’s No.1 women’s singles player Sahaja Yamalapalli was on Wednesday awarded a wild card entry into the main draw of the Mumbai Open — a WTA 125k series event, starting February 2.

Sahaja played a key role in India’s second-placed finish in the Asia-Oceania Group 1 stage of the Billie Jean King Cup in Pune and was also part of the team during the play-offs held in Bengaluru.

“I am extremely grateful to MSLTA for giving me the wild card. Playing a WTA event at home is always truly special and it means a lot to me. I am going to try and play my heart out in every match and give my 100%,” said Sahaja.

“The aim is to go deep in the tournament but the most important thing for me is to show growth as a player and take confidence

into the season.” She had exited in the Round of 32 after a 3–6 6–4 1–6 defeat to Thailand’s Lanlana Tararudee in previous edition.

Reflected on her performance last year, she said , “I’ve made a few changes to my game since the last edition, especially in my serve and I’ve seen a massive improvement as a result.” “I’ve also worked on being tactically disciplined, being consistent under pressure and deciding when to play aggressively. I am really looking forward to showcasing this growth in the upcoming edition of the L&T Mumbai Open.” “The L&T Mumbai Open is extremely important for us since it gives us rare and valuable exposure to top level competition without the challenges of constant travel and expenses. It is also an inspiration to many young players to see that our country is doing a lot for us players and this pushes us to give our best.” PTI APS SSC SSC