Aaliya Ebrahim's red-hot form continued as she completed a Picklebay Zonals North-South double, trumping Mihika Yadav in the Open Women's Singles final
at the Picklebay Zonals - South, an Indian Pickleball Association-sanctioned PWR 1000 event, at GoRally Pickleball Indiranagar in Bengaluru. In a field where the challenge awaited at every stage, Aaliya, who had defeated Mihika in the Picklebay Zonals - North final in June, repeated the feat in Bengaluru, reigning supreme in the singles final with a straight-games (11-8, 11-7) win. Earlier, in the semifinal, Aaliya overcame a scare to get past a gritty Shreya Chakraborty. Aaliya, who won her Round of 16 and quarterfinal matches against Nidhitra Rajmohan and Bhumika Tripathi rather comfortably, had to toil hard for the win against Shreya. Even as she won the opening game in emphatic fashion, Aaliya saw Shreya fighting her heart out and forcing a decider by winning the second game by a narrow margin. In the third game, Aaliya, however, found her rhythm back to register an 11-2, 10-11, 11-6 win and head into the final. The title clash was smooth sailing for Aaliya as she trumped familiar foe Mihika 11-8, 11-7 to win the title. With Mihika losing both the women's singles finals at this year's Picklebay Zonals - North and South, Aaliya established her domination on the domestic circuit. Meanwhile, it was Aaliya's straight successive win over Mihika, all coming in 2026. Their first meeting - the women's singles final at the IPA Nationals in Bengaluru in November 2025 - went Mihika's way, but Aaliya has looked like a different beast every time they have met since.
Red-hot form and a spot in Asia’s Top 10
At the women's singles bronze medal playoff at the BIDV Cup in Vietnam, their first meeting since the Nationals, Aaliya kick-started her winning run against Mihika.
This dominant victory meant Aaliya had now won both PWR 1000 titles - the biggest of the season so far. It also strengthened her hold over the head-to-head rivalry and further underlined her status as India’s No. 1 women’s singles player.
This run of form also meant Aaliya overtook Mihika as India's No. 1 women's singles player. In the DUPR Asia ranking, Aaliya, ranked 10th, has a 5.286 rating, while Mihika, at 12th, has a rating of 5.264.
Earlier, Aaliya paired up with local star Sharmada Balu to win the Open Women's Doubles title against Shreya and Khushi Desai 11-10, 8-11, 12-10. With two titles in her kitty, Aaliya has effectively kept her domination in the field intact.
With the second edition of the Indian Pickleball League (IPBL) in the offing and the IPA Nationals 2026, a PWR 2000 event, around the corner, Aaliya’s rapid rise makes her one of the most exciting players to watch in two of the season’s most anticipated events.
