Sahaja Yamalapalli becomes the 3rd Indian woman to win a pro tennis title in the USA
Telangana tennis player Sahaja Yamalapalli clinched the ITF pro title at the W15 Los Angeles competition after defeating USA’s Amy Zhu in a tough contest. She won 6-4, 7-6 (4) to secure the SoCal Pro Series title at the Jack Kramer Club in Rolling Hills Estates.
Sahaja became only the third Indian female tennis player to win a pro title in the USA. Sania Mirza and Karman Thandi are the other two Indians to have won the pro tennis title in America.
Notably, Sania first won a pro title at the W15 Boca Raton in 2004, and Karman clinched the W60 Evansville title in 2023.
It’s worth noting that Sahaja had an exceptional run until clinching the title in the finals. She bagged a win over a top-10-ranked collegiate player Rachel Gailis.
Sahaja had a fine run until the finals. In the semifinals, she defeated a top-10-ranked collegiate player. Her hard-fought win in the finals propelled her to a career-best ranking of 305, moving past her previous high of 335 in January 2024.
Before winning the SoCal Pro Series title, Sahaja Yamalapalli secured three ITF singles titles.
A look at Sahaja Yamalapalli’s career
Sahaja Yamalapalli represents the Sam Houston State University team and stole the spotlight as the second tennis player at the university to be named Student Athlete of the Year, following Irina Sotnikova’s win in 2009.
Sahaja created headlines in February 2024 after defeating World No. 92 and top seed Kayla Day from the USA in the first round of the WTA Mumbai Open. Earlier last year, she defeated World No. 186 Ekaterina Makarova of Russia in the ITF W25 Solapur event.
Sahaja Yamalapalli received impressive support on a timely basis when she needed funds to participate in the competition. Firstly, Lakshya Sports, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting sports talent in India, came out to support the athlete financially, followed by Techwave company, a global IT major.
Additionally, Sahaja is the second highest-ranked Indian women’s tennis player after Ankita Raina, who is ranked 215.