Sahaja Yamalapalli and Maaya Rajeshwaran have received wildcard entries for the WTA 250 Chennai Open, scheduled to be held from October 27 to November 2. The 16-year-old Maaya has been making waves on the junior circuit, having competed in junior Grand Slams at the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon, and US Open.
While she exited in the first round in Paris, the Coimbatore native reached the second round in both London and New York. Since February, she has been training at the renowned Rafa Nadal Academy in Mallorca, Spain. Maaya further showcased her potential by winning the Grade 2 ITF event in Gladbeck, Germany, in June, defeating Switzerland’s Noella Manta 6-2, 6-4. This victory marked her seventh title in junior competitions.
Yamalapalli, meanwhile, grabbed headlines after recently at the WTA 125K Abierto Tampico in Mexico. The 24-year-old required just an hour and 10 minutes to secure a 6-2, 6-2 win over Stephens. She also pushed World No. 125 Petra Marcinko to a tough three-set battle before losing 7-5, 6-7 (5-7), 6-1 in the Round of 16.
Slovakia’s Mia Pohankova and France’s Lois Boisson are also among the wildcard entrants for the event. Earlier this year, Boisson made headlines at the French Open by reaching the final after defeating Mirra Andreeva 7-6 (6), 6-3 in the quarter-finals, becoming the first Frenchwoman to reach the Roland Garros semis since Marion Bartoli in 2011.
The tournament’s top seed will be Germany’s Tatjana Maria, the reigning Queen’s Club champion. At 37, Maria became the oldest WTA 500 champion after defeating America’s Amanda Anisimova in the London final.
However, the world No. 42 will face stiff competition in the WTA 250 Chennai Open from 20-year-old Linda Fruhvirtova of the Czech Republic, Croatia’s Donna Vekic-a former Wimbledon semi-finalist and Olympic silver medallist-and Lulu Sun of New Zealand, who reached the Wimbledon quarterfinals last year.