Ankita Raina
Ankita Ravinderkrishan Raina is an Indian professional tennis player and the current Indian No. 1 in both women’s singles and doubles.
Raina has won one WTA Challenger in doubles, along with eleven singles and seventeen doubles titles on the ITF Women's Circuit. In April 2018, she entered the top 200 singles rankings for the first time, becoming only the fifth player representing India to achieve this feat. Raina has also won gold medals in the women's singles and mixed-doubles events at the 2016 South Asian Games, and won a bronze medal in singles at the 2018 Asian Games.
Playing for India at the Fed Cup, Raina has a win-loss record of 18–14. She has notable wins over Zhu Lin and Yulia Putintseva, both at the 2018 Fed Cup.
Personal life
Raina was born in the western Indian state of Gujarat to a Kashmiri Pandit family. Her family hails from the town of Tral in Pulwama district, Kashmir. Her family left Kashmir in the early 1990s during the exodus of Kashmiri Hindus, due to the ongoing insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir.Raina is fluent in Hindi, Gujarati, and English. Raina briefly studied at Brihan Maharashtra.
At the national events, Raina has represented her home state Gujarat. Her idols growing up were Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Serena Williams and Sania Mirza.
Raina trains at the Hemant Bendrey Tennis Academy at the PYC Hindu Gymkhana in Pune, and is coached by Hemant Bendrey.
Career
Raina started playing tennis at the age of five. Following a promising junior career, Raina made her first professional appearance in 2009, at a small ITF tournament in Mumbai. In 2010, she continued to participate in local ITF events with limited success. Raina's 2011 season saw her advance to three ITF circuit finals in doubles, winning one with countrywoman Aishwarya Agrawal. In 2012, she won her first professional singles title in New Delhi and won three more in doubles. This was followed by a few years of mediocre results on the ITF Women's Circuit.Raina won two matches at the 2017 Mumbai Open, advancing to the biggest quarterfinal of her career. This would turn out to be her breakthrough tournament. In April 2018, she reached a ranking of world No. 181 after winning a $25K ITF title, becoming the fifth Indian national to crack to the top-200 ladies singles rankings, following Nirupama Sanjeev, Sania Mirza, Shikha Uberoi, and Sunitha Rao.
In August 2018, Ankita won the bronze medal in the Asian Games at Jakarta, Indonesia in singles event. Raina and Sania Mirza are the only players representing India to have won a singles medal at the Asian Games.
At the 2019 Kunming Open, Raina got her first top-100 win, defeating Samantha Stosur, former US Open champion and top 10 player, scoring the biggest win of her career. In October 2019, Raina entered the top 150 doubles rankings for the first time, after reaching the finals of the 2019 Suzhou Ladies Open with partner Rosalie van der Hoek. She bettered this feat by winning two back-to-back ITF titles in Nonthaburi alongside Bibiane Schoofs; followed by reaching her first WTA semifinal at the 2020 Thailand Open alongside Rosalie. This gave Raina a new career-high raking of No. 123 in doubles.
Playing style
Raina is a steady baseliner who primarily relies on her speed and counterpunching abilities to outlast her opponents.She hits with plenty of topspin on both her forehand and backhand, and can hit in all directions comfortably. She also uses the backhand slice quite often, as a way of varying the pattern of a rally.
Raina is comfortable with volleying, and approaches the net whenever she gets her opponent running or out of position. She doesn't use the drop shot or lob too frequently, but brings them out as a surprise tactic.
Raina's biggest strength is her baseline consistency. She can stay toe-to-toe with most players from the back of the court, and can get a majority of shots back in play.
Raina has a solid first serve, but it is her second serve that gives her an advantage at the start of a point. She can hit a good kick serve, which opens up the court for an easy putaway.
Raina also has a good return of serve, and is capable of neutralizing most big serves by sending them back with precision. She is also quite efficient at the net, and can take the attack to the opponent on fast courts with her purposeful volleys.
Raina's biggest weakness is the lack of firepower on her groundstrokes. She can't match the raw muscle strength of the top players, and so is frequently in danger of getting blown off the court. Recently, she has been moving a lot better on the court as well.
Sponsorship and equipment
In her junior years, Raina was helped by Dishman Pharmaceuticals and Chemicals to participate in overseas junior tournaments. Since then, she has been supported by Bharat Forge and Lakshya. Most recently, Raina has signed sponsorship deals with the Sports Authority of Gujarat and Yonex, and she is officially employed with ONGC. Hence, Raina uses Yonex racquets and clothing. Adani Group is her current supporter.In 2013, Raina met Narendra Modi, India's then-future prime minister, and officially was recognised under the Shaktidhoot scheme and hence became a part of India's goal of reaching Olympic podiums.
WTA 125K series finals
Doubles: 1 (1 title)
ITF circuit finals
Singles: 21 (11 titles, 10 runner–ups)
| Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Opponent | Score |
| Loss | 0–1 | ITF Fujairah, United Arab Emirates | 10,000 | Hard |  Fatma Al-Nabhani | 3–6, 2–6 | |
| Win | 1–1 | ITF New Delhi, India | 10,000 | Hard |  Prerna Bhambri | 6–4, 6–2 | |
| Loss | 1–2 | ITF New Delhi, India | 10,000 | Hard |  Miyabi Inoue | 2–6, 2–6 | |
| Loss | 1–3 | ITF Hyderabad, India | 10,000 | Hard |  Bárbara Luz | 6–4, 6–7, 6–7 | |
| Loss | 1–4 | ITF Hyderabad, India | 10,000 | Hard | Bárbara Luz | 6–2, 3–6, 1–6 | |
| Win | 2–4 | ITF Chennai, India | 10,000 | Clay | Natasha Palha | 6–3, 6–1 | |
| Loss | 2–5 | ITF Lucknow, India | 10,000 | Grass | Emi Mutaguchi | 6–3, 6–7, 1–6 | |
| Loss | 2–6 | ITF Qarshi, Uzbekistan | 25,000 | Hard |  Sabina Sharipova | 3–6, 3–6 | |
| Win | 3–6 | ITF New Delhi, India | 10,000 | Hard | Eetee Maheta | 6–3, 6–2 | |
| Win | 4–6 | ITF New Delhi, India | 10,000 | Hard | Kanika Vaidya | 6–4, 6–4 | |
| Loss | 4–7 | ITF Balikpapan, Indonesia | 25,000 | Clay |  Zhu Lin | 5–7, 6–2, 3–6 | |
| Win | 5–7 | ITF Pune, India | 25,000 | Hard |  Katy Dunne | 6–2, 6–2 | |
| Loss | 5–8 | ITF Ahmedabad, India | 25,000 | Hard |  Anastasija Sevastova | 4–6, 6–7 | |
| Loss | 5–9 | May 2017 | ITF Lu'an, China | 60,000 | Hard | Zhu Lin | 3–6, 6–3, 4–6 |
| Win | 6–9 | ITF Gwalior, India | 25,000 | Hard |  Amandine Hesse | 6–2, 7–5 | |
| Win | 7–9 | ITF Nonthaburi, Thailand | 25,000 | Hard | Risa Ozaki | 6–2, 6–3 | |
| Win | 8–9 | ITF Singapore | 25,000 | Hard |  Arantxa Rus | 6–3, 6–2 | |
| Loss | 8–10 | 2019 Lale Cup – Singles| | ITF Istanbul, Turkey | 60,000 | Hard |  Vitalia Diatchenko | 4–6, 0–6 |
| Win | 9–10 | Dec 2019 | ITF Solapur, India | 25,000 | Hard | Naiktha Bains | 6–3, 6–3 |
| Win | 10–10 | Jan 2020 | ITF Nonthaburi, Thailand | 25,000 | Hard | Chloé Paquet | 6–3, 7–5 |
| Win | 11–10 | Feb 2020 | ITF Jodhpur, India | 25,000 | Hard |  Berfu Cengiz | 7–5, 6–1 |
Doubles: 27 (17 titles, 13 runner–ups)
| Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
| Loss | 0–1 | ITF Kolkata, India | 10,000 | Clay | Poojashree Venkatesha |  Nicole Clerico  Dalila Jakupovič | 3–6, 1–6 | |
| Loss | 0–2 | ITF Lucknow, India | 10,000 | Grass | Aishwarya Agrawal | Anja Prislan Kyra Shroff | 3–6, 3–6 | |
| Win | 1–2 | ITF New Delhi, India | 10,000 | Hard | Aishwarya Agrawal | Fatma Al-Nabhani Rushmi Chakravarthi | 6–4, 6–3 | |
| Win | 2–2 | ITF New Delhi, India | 10,000 | Hard | Rushmi Chakravarthi | Liu Yuxuan Zhao Qianqian | 6–1, 6–4 | |
| Win | 3–2 | ITF New Delhi, India | 10,000 | Hard | Rushmi Chakravarthi | Sri Peddy Reddy Prarthana Thombare | 6–3, 6–2 | |
| Win | 4–2 | ITF New Delhi, India | 10,000 | Hard | Aishwarya Agrawal |  Ester Masuri  Naomi Totka | 6–1, 6–4 | |
| Loss | 4–3 | ITF Chennai, India | 10,000 | Clay | Rushmi Chakravarthi | Natasha Palha Prarthana Thombare | 7–5, 3–6, | |
| Loss | 4–4 | ITF New Delhi, India | 10,000 | Hard | Shweta Rana | Sharmada Balu Sowjanya Bavisetti | 2–6, 4–6 | |
| Win | 5–4 | ITF Aurangabad, India | 10,000 | Clay | Prarthana Thombare | Shweta Rana Rishika Sunkara | 6–3, 6–3 | |
| Loss | 5–5 | ITF Tianjin, China | 25,000 | Hard | Fatma Al-Nabhani | Liu Chang Ran Tian | 1–6, 5–7 | |
| Win | 6–5 | ITF Mumbai, India | 25,000 | Hard | Lu Jiajing |  Nicha Lertpitaksinchai Peangtarn Plipuech | 6–4, 1–6, | |
| Win | 7–5 | ITF Lucknow, India | 15,000 | Grass | Emily Webley-Smith | Rushmi Chakravarthi Nidhi Chilumula | 6–2, 6–4 | |
| Loss | 7–6 | ITF Westende, Belgium | 25,000 | Hard |  Alyona Sotnikova | Indy de Vroome Lesley Kerkhove | 6–7, 4–6 | |
| Loss | 7–7 | ITF Fergana, Uzbekistan | 25,000 | Hard | Prerna Bhambri | Polina Monova Yana Sizikova | 6–7, 2–6 | |
| Win | 8–7 | Sep 2016 | ITF Zhuhai, China | 50,000 | Hard | Emily Webley-Smith | Guo Hanyu Jiang Xinyu | 6–4, 6–4 |
| Win | 9–7 | ITF Pula, Italy | 25,000 | Clay | Eva Wacanno |  Irene Burillo Escorihuela Yvonne Cavallé Reimers | 6–4, 6–4 | |
| Win | 10–7 | ITF Hua Hin, Thailand | 25,000 | Hard | Emily Webley-Smith | Nudnida Luangnam Zhang Yukun | 6–2, 6–0 | |
| Win | 11–7 | ITF Koksijde, Belgium | 25,000 | Clay | Bibiane Schoofs |  Marie Benoît Magali Kempen | 3–6, 6–3, | |
| Loss | 11–8 | ITF Leipzig, Germany | 25,000 | Clay |  Tereza Mrdeža | Valentyna Ivakhnenko  Lidziya Marozava | 2–6, 1–6 | |
| Win | 12–8 | Aug 2017 | ITF Artvin, Turkey | 60,000 | Hard |  Gabriela Cé |  Elitsa Kostova Yana Sizikova | 6–2, 6–3 |
| Win | 13–8 | May 2018 | ITF Lu'an, China | 60,000 | Hard | Harriet Dart | Liu Fangzhou Xun Fangying | 6–3, 6–3 |
| Win | 14–8 | ITF Pune, India | 25,000 | Hard | Karman Thandi | Aleksandrina Naydenova Tamara Zidanšek | 6–2, 6–7, | |
| Loss | 14–9 | Jul 2019 | ITF Versmold, Germany | 60,000 | Clay | Bibiane Schoofs | Amina Anshba  Anastasia Dețiuc | 6–0, 3–6, |
| Loss | 14–10 | ITF Woking, United Kingdom | 25,000 | Hard | Naiktha Bains | Sarah Beth Grey Eden Silva | 2–6, 5–7 | |
| Loss | 14–11 | Oct 2019 | ITF Suzhou, China | 100,000 | Hard | Rosalie van der Hoek | Jiang Xinyu Tang Qianhui | 6–3, 3–6, |
| Loss | 14–12 | Nov 2019 | ITF Liuzhou, China | 60,000 | Hard | Rosalie van der Hoek | Jiang Xinyu Tang Qianhui | 4–6, 4–6 |
| Win | 15–12 | ITF Solapur, India | 25,000 | Hard |  Ulrikke Eikeri | Berfu Cengiz  Despina Papamichail | 5–7, 6–4, | |
| Win | 16–12 | ITF Nonthaburi, Thailand | 25,000 | Hard | Bibiane Schoofs | Supapitch Kuearum Mananchaya Sawangkaew | 6–4, 6–2 | |
| Win | 17–12 | ITF Nonthaburi, Thailand | 25,000 | Hard | Bibiane Schoofs | Miyabi Inoue Kang Jiaqi | 6–2, 3–6, | |
| Loss | 17–13 | ITF Jodhpur, India | 25,000 | Hard | Snehal Mane | Rutuja Bhosale Miyabi Inoue | 6–4, 4–6, |