Karman Kaur Thandi becomes India’s No. 1 women’s singles tennis player

Karman Kaur Thandi is now India’s No. 1 women’s singles tennis player, displacing long-standing resident Ankita Raina, following her recent triumph at the W60 ITF event in Saguenay, Canada, on Sunday.

The win, the biggest singles title of Karman Kaur Thandi’s career so far, propelled the 24-year-old up to the 217th position in the latest WTA tennis rankings, up a whopping 91 positions from the last rankings release.

Olympian Ankita Rania is currently placed 297th after slipping down 13 places. Rutuja Bhosale, down nine spots to world No. 411, Riya Bhatia, world No. 490 after losing five places, and Sahaja Yamalapalli, up 20 spots to 508, make up the top five Indian women’s singles players in the world.

Karman Kaur Thandi achieved her career-best ranking of 196 back in 2018.

The triumph at Saguenay was Karman Kaur Thandi’s third career singles title and the second of the year. The Indian tennis player had won a W25 tournament in Gurugram back in June.

Karman Kaur Thandi’s maiden singles title, meanwhile, came in Hong Kong in 2018.

In the final against Canadian Katherine Sebov in Saguenay, Karman Kaur Thandi came from a set down to win the match 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 to win the title.

Earlier in the tournament, Karman Kaur Thandi upset USA’s Robin Anderson, the second seed, in the first round and Japan’s Ena Shibahara, one-half of the French Open 2022 mixed doubles champions, in the second.

She then beat England’s Sarah Beth Grey and USA’s Sarah Beth Grey by straight sets in the quarter-finals and semis, respectively, to make her way into the final.

The year 2022, overall, has been a great one for the Indian tennis player who was ranked over 400 back in February. 

Last month, Thandi even shocked France’s Chloe Paquet, the then world No. 109, in the first round of the WTA Chennai Open 2022 and earned plaudits for putting up a spirited fight against former Wimbledon finalist Eugenie Bouchard in the second round.