Sahaja Yamalapalli finishes runner-up in ITF W35 tennis tournament in USA

Hyderabad’s Sahaja Yamalapalli finished runner-up at the ITF W35 Wichita tournament in Kansas, losing 4-6, 0-6 to USA’s Reese Brantmeier in the final. Earlier, Yamalapalli fought through a grueling three-set semifinal to book her place in the summit clash

Hyderabad: Hyderabad’s Sahaja Yamalapalli finished as the runner-up at the ITF W35 tennis tournament in Wichita, Kansas, USA, after losing 4-6, 0-6 to America’s Reese Brantmeier in the final.

On her way to the final, Yamalapalli put up a strong performance. In the opening round, she defeated Victoria Osuigwe (USA) 6-4, 6-4, before overcoming Oyinlomo Quadre (NGR) 7-5, 6-1 in the pre-quarters. She maintained her momentum in the quarterfinals with a dominant 6-2, 6-2 win over Ekaterina Khayrutdinova (RUS). In a grueling semifinal clash, Yamalapalli showed immense grit to fight back and edge out Yekaterina Dmitrichenko (KAZ) 4-6, 6-4, 7-5.

---