Rising Indian tennis stars Prajnesh Gunneswaran and Ankita Raina attained their career-best rankings in the latest update. While Prajnesh was ranked 102, her compatriot Ankita was ranked 168.
Prajnesh Gunneswaran qualified for the main draw of the 2019 Australian Open when the 29-year-old strolled past Spain’s Enrique Lopez Perez 6-3, 6-3. However, he had to face World No.30 Frances Tiafoe’s challenge in the first round which he lost 6-7, 3-6, 3-6 comprehensively. Prajnesh will be the highest ranked Indian against a formidable Italian side when they cross swords in the 2019 Davis Cup Qualifiers.
Ankita Raina, on the other hand, stumbled in the final round of qualifiers of the 2019 Australian Open when she bowed out to Spain’s Paula Badosa Gibert 4-6, 6-2, 6-4. In the ensuing ITF Singapore Open, she reached the Round of 16 before losing to South Korea’s Han Na-lae. But, she didn’t let the disappoint affect her performance in the Thailand Open as she humiliated Hong Kong’s Kwaun Yau Ng in the final 6-0, 6-0.
Other Indians, however, saw a dip in their rankings. Kamar Kaur Thandi, the second highest-ranked Indian female singles player dropped five spots to 210 whereas India’s second highest-ranked male singles player slid down two places to 133. Yuki Bhambri was the only other Indian remaining in the top 200 as he was ranked 151.
Saketh Myneni and Sasi Kumar Mukund are ranked 260 and 292 respectively.
