From Singles Setbacks to Doubles Finals: India’s Tauste Tournament Narrative
The sun-baked courts of Tauste transformed into a compelling theater where Indian tennis warriors etched contrasting tales of grit, glory, and near-misses during the ITF W35 championships, painting the Spanish landscape with subcontinental ambitions.
Raina’s Rollercoaster Ride Through Singles Battlefield
Fourth-seeded Ankita Raina swept through her opening encounters with surgical precision, dismantling Romanian qualifier Menuha Popovici 6-2, 6-1 in the opening round. Her relentless momentum helped her get past Spain’s Maria Martinez Vaquero 2-6, 6-4, 6-3 in the second-round clash.
The quarter-finals delivered a masterclass in how tight matches can slip away. Against Italy’s Diletta Cherubini, Raina found herself narrowly losing the first set 5-7. The second set proved even more evenly-matched, with both players giving their best and taking it to the tiebreak – Raina just fell short at the end, bringing an end to a captivating singles thriller as well as her Singles campaign at the tournament. Final score line: 5-7, 6-7(3)
Partnership Perfection: Raina / Bhosale’s Road to Doubles Finals
Where individual dreams fractured, collaborative magic flourished spectacularly. Raina’s alliance with fellow Indian Rutuja Bhosale blossomed into the tournament’s most mesmerizing success story, their top-seeded partnership weaving through opponents with breathtaking synchronicity.
Their semi-final encounter against Spain’s Martinez Vaquero and Alba Rey Garcia epitomized their elite-level resilience. Despite surrendering the opening frame 6-7(1), the Indian duo unleashed their tactical arsenal, commandeering the subsequent sets 7-6(2) & [12-10] with ruthless efficiency, saving 5 match points in the process. This stunning comeback catapulted them into the championship showdown against Japan’s formidable pairing of Hiromi Abe and Kanako Morisaki.
Despite their remarkable journey to the championship match, the top-seeded duo of Raina and Bhosale met formidable opposition in the experienced Abe-Morisaki combination, falling 3-6, 2-6 in a final that showcased the fine margins between victory and defeat at the highest level.
Adkar’s Promising Start and Tough Exit
Vaishnavi Adkar (ranked #601) began her campaign with encouraging authority, dispatching qualifier Arina Arifullina 6-2, 6-3 in the opening round. However, her tournament journey met its end in the Round of 16, where she faced a stern examination against sixth-seeded Hiromi Abe (#357) of Japan. Despite showing flashes of her potential, Adkar succumbed 3-6, 5-7 to the higher-ranked Japanese player in a respectable but ultimately unsuccessful bid to reach the quarter-finals.
Her doubles run alongside Japan’s Mana Kawamura was unfortunately short-lived. The Indo-Japanese duo succumbed 5-7, 6-1, [7-10] to the established Bhosale-Raina juggernaut in the opening round.
Other Results
Rutuja Bhosale was eliminated in the singles qualifying first round, losing 2-6, 2-6 to Spain’s Maria de la Paz Alberto. Suhani Patil partnered with Spain’s Marina Benito in doubles and the pair lost their first-round match 5-7, 6-3, [2-10] to Georgia Kalamaris / Marina Quesada Oyonarte.
Tournament Takeaways
The tournament’s crescendo promised riveting entertainment, with the Raina-Bhosale partnership carrying Indian aspirations into battle against Japan’s accomplished Abe-Morisaki combination. Their ascension from tournament favorites to finalists represented the competition’s most compelling narrative arc – transforming individual setbacks into collective triumph.
This Spanish clay-court adventure perfectly encapsulated professional tennis’s contradictory essence, where microscopic differences separate enduring memories from forgotten defeats.
