Mumbai: A day after Vaishnavi Adkar capped off her career’s most successful and – by her own admission – surprising week by finishing singles runner-up in the W100 ITF Bengaluru event as a wildcard, coach Balachandran Manikkath told her this was just the start. “Literally step 1,” he said.
That step, a sizable one, made her jump 224 places in Monday’s WTA rankings, placing her 466th as the new India No.2 in women’s singles. Adkar was India No.7 coming into Bengaluru, where a giant-killing run of scripting three career-best wins and taking down two top-150 opponents ignited the leap.
This wasn’t routine for Indian tennis: not since Sania Mirza has there been a women’s singles finalist from the country at the ITF 100 level or higher. This also wasn’t usual for the 21-year-old from Pune: Adkar had played three ITF finals before, all at the W15 level.
“Till yesterday, I was still trying to process what had happened,” Adkar told HT on Monday. “But as I kept going, it didn’t feel as surprising. With the level of tennis that I’ve been playing, I feel like I belong here.”
A couple of years ago, the promising junior who turned pro in 2022 was ranked in the 800s. Glimpses of her potential and the natural backhand came then too. Adkar took a set off a player ranked over 500 places above her at the WTA 125 Mumbai Open and won the ITF W15 title in Ahmedabad in 2024.
Last year was a struggle, despite winning the senior national title and a World University Games medal. A series of early exits playing in higher ITF events in Europe drowned her in self-doubt.
“I asked my parents if whatever we were doing was even worth it,” she said. “But my parents pushed me to keep believing.”
Bopanna academy move
Around the same time, Adkar met Rohan Bopanna, the former doubles world No.1 who has his academy in Bengaluru. Coached by Kedar Shah in Pune for years, Adkar was seeking a change. And so last month, she shifted her training base to the Rohan Bopanna Tennis Academy (RBTA).
“She was open to new ideas and willing to try things out, not just in practice but also matches. I told Rohan this is not common,” said Manikkath, senior coach at RBTA who has coached several of India’s former top pros.
Adkar sees herself as a different player now compared to months ago. Serve and fitness continue to be major work in progress.
“She can hurt people with her hitting. But where she has improved is the shot selection – when to go big, when to give the ball direction, what speed to hit, what height to hit,” said Manikkath. “The serve will need the biggest improvement.”
Manikkath reckons she has the potential to get into the top 200, at least. “I wouldn’t be surprised if she gets into the top 100. She has the game and temperament to play at a higher level. The first thing for us is to get here to 200. And from there, connect the dots and see where the line leads to.”
That line has often gone in circles for some players of late. Over the last couple of years, Indian pros, especially women, have produced deep runs in one tournament that has surged their rankings. But they haven’t managed to maintain or build on that boost. That will be the challenge now for Adkar.
“It’s a challenge, yes,” she said. “But it’s also a nice opportunity. I’ve sort of proved myself by doing well here. Now, it will be important for me to get more consistent and start playing in higher level tournaments.”
Adkar wants to make RBTA a more long-term base in that process of growth, and reap the benefits of having a Grand Slam champion in Bopanna as part of her team environment. “It’s great to have someone like him around,” she said.
