New Delhi, October 5 (Daily Kiran) : The 31st Fenesta Open National Tennis Championship commenced on October 5, 2026, at the DLTA Complex in New Delhi. On the first day, top-seeded players Manish Suresh Kumar and Vaidehi Chaudhary secured their spots in the next round with commanding victories in the men’s and women’s singles categories.
Defending champion Suresh Kumar faced Prasad Ingle, winning decisively 6-1, 6-2 in a match that lasted just 61 minutes. After his victory, he expressed satisfaction with his performance, stating, “It was a good start. I focused on playing strong since it was my first match. I aimed to keep as many balls in play as possible and find my rhythm. Today was about playing solidly and forcing my opponent into mistakes. I felt my serve was very good, and I hope to maintain this momentum in the upcoming rounds.”
Vaidehi Chaudhary also delivered an impressive performance, defeating Riya Sachdeva 6-0, 6-1 in just 56 minutes. Chaudhary dominated the match, winning the first 11 games before her opponent finally got on the scoreboard. “I played really well,” she said after the match. “I was ahead 6-0, 5-0 and wanted to win without losing a game. But Riya played well, and the final score was 6-0, 6-1. Now, I am looking forward to my second-round match tomorrow.”
In a significant upset, Soha Sadik defeated sixth-seeded Jennifer Luikhum 6-4, 6-1, marking the tournament’s first major surprise. Sadik shared her feelings post-match: “I feel very positive. Playing against Jennifer is not easy as she is a tough competitor. I’m glad I won. I trained specifically for this tournament and executed what I practiced. This is one of India’s biggest tournaments, and this win is a great start for me.”
In the men’s singles draw, third-seed Nitin Sinha, sixth-seed Man Kesarwani, and eighth-seed Rohan Mehra advanced to the second round. However, seventh-seed Madhvin Kamath fell to Parth Agarwal in a three-set match. On the women’s side, second-seed Shruti Ahlawat secured her place in the next round by defeating Chevika Sama 6-4, 6-0, while third-seed Akanksha Nitture triumphed in a close match against Lakshmi Gowda, winning 7-6, 7-6.
Among the qualifiers, top-seed Suraj Prabodh was one of eight players to advance to the main draw. Other notable players included experienced 35-year-old Lakshit Sood and junior rising stars Aditya Mor and Prakash Saran, both seeded in the under-18 singles draw, which also began on Monday.
In the boys’ under-18 singles draw, top-seed Praneel Sharma showcased an outstanding performance, defeating Ritvik Datt 6-0, 6-0 in under an hour. Fourth-seed Om Ramesh Patel, seventh-seed Parjanya Aduri, and eighth-seed Kushagra Arora also won their first-round matches in straight sets.
The girls’ under-18 singles draw kicked off on the same day, with the top 16 seeded players receiving byes into the second round. First-round winners included Riddhi Shinde, Pawni Bisht, Pooja Nagaraj, and Sanidhya Karantoth, among others.
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