5 of India's young, rising tennis talents

Pranjala Yadlapalli

Yadlapalli had a finals finish at the singles of an ITF event in Pune last month and has shown singles skill

Labelled at one time the ‘successor of Sania Mirza’, Pranjala Yadlapalli is yet to win WTA titles, but has been an active presence on the ITF circuit this year.

The 17-year-old managed a Round of 16 finish at the Australian Open Juniors this year in the singles, progressing to the quarter-finals in the girls doubles – where she lost a closely-fought match with partner Karman Kaur Thandi.

Yadlapalli had a title win last year at the prestigious Orange Bowl championships in Plantation, Florida, taking the girls’ doubles title with partner Tamara Zidansek of Slovenia.

Her most recent professional outing – at the Asian B1 ITF Pune Open Junior Tennis Championships in Pune, India this May, went quite successfully for the teen, who finished in the finals of the girls’ singles.

She eventually lost to China’s Xiyu Wang, but Yadlapalli played a consistent game for her wins. The youngster still needs work on keeping pace and momentum during her matches, but should she move forward on her current path of progress, could be