At just 14 years old, Jensi Dipakbhai Kanabar has etched her name into the annals of Indian tennis history, becoming the first Indian female to win a title at the 2026 Australian Open Asia-Pacific Elite 14 & Under Trophy held at Melbourne Park. The young sensation's feat marked a watershed moment for Indian junior tennis and underscores the impact of sustained athlete support under the Khelo India scheme.
The Gujarati girl clinched a memorable 3-6, 6-4, 6-1 victory in front of a partisan home crowd against Australia's Musemma Cilek. Jensi had earlier topped her round-robin group with a perfect record, winning 12 out of 15 games.
"The feeling of winning the Australian Open is fantastic, and now I turn my attention to winning the Junior Grand Slam
and Pro Circuit as well," Jensin told SAI from Melbourne on Friday. "Last year I have played Wimbledon as well as a lot of foreign competitions, and that prepared me for this. My major aim remains to give India a medal at the Olympics. "
From Khelo India to the world
Jensi has been backed as a Khelo India Athlete (KIA) since April 2024. Besides financial assistance of Rs. 10,000 per month, she has benefited from access to high-quality coaching and competitive exposure, enhanced training infrastructure, and tournament readiness support, besides the financial assistance and developmental backing aimed at preparing India's junior talent for global platforms.
Her father, Dipakbhai, has served as her personal coach. "From the age of three and a half, I have been training her in Junagadh, where we have set up two private tennis courts for her," Dipakbhai Kanabar said to SAI from Melbourne on Friday. "The assistance which pours in from the Khelo India scheme is utilised in her overall training, which includes setting up her fitness and coaching team in Junagadh. "
Speaking of the road ahead, Dipakbhai added, "From Monday evening, we will resume her training in Junagadh. It's usually 7 hours of training a day. My personal aim for her is to make her break into the top 100 in the junior world rankings by August and September, before she turns 15. She is currently World no 298 in the U18 level. "
Jensi has reached the No.1 ranking in both AITA Girls U14 and U16 categories. Her international track record includes the GSPDP Asian Under-14 Championship title in Manila and strong performances on the ITF junior circuit, notably winning the ITF J30 Ahmedabad title on debut. Her victory follows the 2024 success of Arnav Paparkar, who became the first Indian boy to win the same event.
