Sahaja delighted with maiden ITF title
Hyderabad: Sahaja Yamalapalli is over the moon after pocketing her maiden ITF title at the Women ITF $ 15k tennis tournament in Nagpur on Sunday. The 21-year-old is confident that it is the first of many to come. The youngster said she didn’t have any special preparations ahead of the tournament but wanted to give […]
Hyderabad: Sahaja Yamalapalli is over the moon after pocketing her maiden ITF title at the Women ITF $ 15k tennis tournament in Nagpur on Sunday. The 21-year-old is confident that it is the first of many to come.
The youngster said she didn’t have any special preparations ahead of the tournament but wanted to give her best. “I am very happy to win my first ITF title. I just wanted to give my best and see how it goes. I played well and it (title) just happened.”
Having played around 12 ITF tournaments so far, this is her maiden appearance in a final. “I have played around 12 ITF tournaments so far since last August and reaching pre-quarterfinals was my previous best. I always knew I had the game and winning against Thailand girl Punnin Kovapitukted in the second round gave me a lot of confidence. She had won the title in the previous ITF tournament. Beating her kept me going. I knew I could beat any girl in the tournament and before the final, I knew I could do it,” she revealed.
Sahaja had a four-year stint with Sam Houston State University, Huntsville, Texas where she represented them in college tennis. She was selected for the college on sponsorship after performing well in India. She joined them in 2017 August and returned to India in May 2021. “Playing the college tennis in the US helped me grow as a player. I got to train under good coaches. I also became strong physically and mentally. I had won four women’s AITA titles and was ranked 24 in the nationals and that helped me get a scholarship in college,” she added.
Having returned to India recently, Sahaja is looking to set up her base for training. “Right now, I have a mentor Prahlad Kumar Jain. We book a tennis court and train there. But we are looking for an academy where we can have a dedicated coach,” said the youngster who admires Dominic Thiem.
Sahaja is currently ranked at 1290 in the WTA and hopes to improve it to 500-600 by the end of the year. Having played a lot of tennis on hard courts, she started liking the Clay Court as well. “My backhand is my strong point. I am improving my game and fitness levels. Currently I am planning to train for a month and half before playing any tournament. My dream is to win Grand Slams one day,” revealed the Hyderabad girl.
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