With India set to lose its place on the WTA main Tour calendar, Vaishnavi Adkar, Sahaja Yamalapalli and Maaya Rajeshwaran Revathi will have one final opportunity to make their mark on home soil when the third and final edition of the Chennai Open begins on Monday. The three Indians, all reliant on wild cards to secure entry into the singles main draw, will be eager to convert the opportunity into valuable ranking points, knowing that the tournament represents the last edition of a WTA 250 event in the country, at least for now. Ranked outside the top 300, the trio are still some distance away from earning direct entry into WTA 250 tournaments.
With India set to lose its place on the WTA main Tour calendar, Vaishnavi Adkar, Sahaja Yamalapalli and Maaya Rajeshwaran Revathi will have one final opportunity to make their mark on home soil when the third and last edition of the Chennai Open begins Monday.
She also won the doubles title in Lagos. However, a home tournament and a wild card can only open the door. The challenge will be to produce the tennis needed to compete against a stronger international field and convert the opportunity into results. However, she has struggled to make deep runs consistently at higher-level ITF tournaments. Chennai will offer her another opportunity to understand the demands of competing against established professionals and identify areas of her game that require improvement. For all three Indians, the challenge will be to make the most of their opportunity rather than simply treat the wild cards as a chance to feature in a home tournament. “Frankly, anyone can win the tournament.
Vaishnavi’s 2026 campaign included a final appearance at the W35 event in Monastir, Tunisia, in March, a semifinal run at the W15 tournament in Tianjin in August, and a round-of-16 finish at the W50 event in Guiyang in September. For 17-year-old Maaya, who is ranked outside the top 500, the Chennai tournament comes at an important stage of her development. She recently announced herself with her maiden professional singles title at the W35 tournament in Lagos in October, defeating Spain’s Celia Cervino Ruiz 6-4, 6-2 in the final without dropping a set throughout the tournament. The achievement highlighted her potential, but the step up to a WTA 250 main draw remains significant.
It’s wide open,” he said, while pointing out that Chennai’s hot and humid conditions could play a significant role in determining the outcome.
