Hyderabad tennis player Rashmikaa eyes more success after maiden ITF title

Hyderabad tennis player Shrivalli Rashmikaa defeated Zeel Desai 6-0, 4-6, 6-3 in the final at the Bowring Institute

Hyderabad: The target for Hyderabad tennis player Shrivalli Rashmikaa ahead of ITF Women’s World Tour Tennis tournament in Bengaluru was to give her best and take on a match at a time. However, by the end of the tournament, the unseeded player stood tall holding the trophy. It was also her first ITF title.

The 21-year-old youngster was delighted to clinch her maiden ITF title and said she didn’t think she would be holding the trophy, ahead of the start of the event. “That is what makes it sweater. I didn’t think I would win the title. When I started the tournament as an unseeded player, I was focused on playing one match at a time and the target was to give my best and take one match at a time. I am very delighted with the result,” she said from Ahmedabad where she will begin her conquest for another ITF title.

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The Hyderabad girl defeated Zeel Desai 6-0, 4-6, 6-3 in the final at the Bowring Institute, on Sunday. Rashmikaa, who clinched the national title in 2021 and regained it again this year, said going into the tournament with that tag and good form did work in her favour. “Going into the tournament as reigning national champion did help me. It was a big boost winning the national title and doing it twice was even bigger. I was also runner-up in the Thailand 15k tournament. Having a few matches under my belt helped me,” she revealed.

Rashmikaa was also in fine form going into the event, winning silver in singles, doubles and a bronze in team event at the National Games in Goa. Speaking about the final, she said, “I played against her long back. Though we faced each other in the National Games recently, she was injured then. But she was in good form in this tournament. She gave a tough fight. I am glad I could pull it off.”

Speaking on her next target, she said, “I am not looking too far ahead. My goal is to do well in the Ahmedabad event. After a week’s break, we have the Indian leg of ITF tournaments in Solapur and Navi Mumbai. I want to do well in them. My ultimate goal is to play Grand Slams. I plan to play more tournaments abroad and accumulate rankings points,” she revealed. Rashmikaa, whose WTA rank is 706, will improve her ranking to 520, thanks to the big win.

The , who trains with Anand Kumar and Ravichandran when in Hyderabad and with Vishal Uppal in Delhi, and works with Shiva and Naidu for strength and conditioning, revealed that she is working on her physical fitness and mental strength. “I am working hard on the physical aspect to get stronger and faster on court. The focus is also to get stronger mentally as the competition will get tougher with each tournament at this level,” she concluded.