'No point in looking for excuses': Coach Ashutosh Singh on India's Asiad tennis flop.
Indian tennis experienced a significant disappointment at the recent Asian Games, failing to secure any medals for the first time since 1986. The campaign concluded with Sumit Nagal's quarterfinal exit in men's singles, alongside early exits for key doubles pairs. Coaches and officials acknowledge the high level of competition and the need for better support and development of the next generation of players to avoid similar outcomes in future tournaments.
N Sriram Balaji was easily tamed by Elias Ymer, while Ramkumar Ramanathan went down to a lower-ranked Leo Borg as India were left trailing 0-2 against Sweden in the Davis Cup World Group I tie.
Five Indian tennis players were excluded from the Asian Games squad because they did not meet the Sports Ministry's stringent international ranking criteria, a decision that has drawn criticism from veteran players like Rohan Bopanna but is being upheld by authorities to maintain administrative integrity.
SAI has defended the exclusion of five Indian tennis players from the Asian Games squad, saying they failed to meet the prescribed continental ranking criteria.
Bopanna has been ousted from the men's doubles with partner Yuki Bhambri but he is still in medal contention in the mixed doubles with Rutuja Bhosale.
Rajeshwaran shown the door at Mumbai Open
Ramkumar Ramanathan partnered with American Hunter Reese won his first main draw win at a Grand Slam at Rolland Garros on Wednesday
Ramkumar Ramanathan advanced to the second round of the Wimbledon qualifiers but Prajnesh Gunneswaran, who was under-prepared due to a left-wrist injury, bowed out, in London, on Tuesday.
It will motivate him to keep working hard and move to the top 100, feels India's Davis Cup captain Mahesh Bhupathi
India's Ramkumar Ramanathan defeated Argentina's Tomas Martin Etcheverry 6-3, 6-4 in the penultimate round of the qualifying tournament.
Led by marquee player Tomas Martin Etcheverry, the GS Delhi Aces added Belgium's Sofia Costoulas for Rs 11 lakh as well as the doubles specialist Jeevan Neduncheziyan for Rs 6 lakh.
The Indians will now lock horns with top seeds Ivan Dodig of Croatia and Brazilian Marcelo Melo in the summit clash of the of the ATP 250 event.
It was Ramkumar's best performance of the 2020 season for which he earned Euro 7200 as prize money and 60 points that will push him to 185 from 206 in the ATP singles ranking charts.
The Indian pair of Saketh Myneni and Ramkumar Ramanathan beat compatriots Yuki Bhambri and Divij Sharan in straight sets to advance to the quarter-finals of the Bengaluru Open 2 ATP Challenger, in Bengaluru, on Wednesday.
The Indian youngster fought gallantly before he was beaten 7-6 (7-0), 3-6, 6-7 (6-8) in a match that lasted two hour and 43 minutes.
Bopanna and his Dutch partner Matwe Middelkoop, seeded ninth, were stunned by the unseeded Italian pair of Andrea Vavassori and Lorenzo Sonego
Ramkumar, who recently created ripples by scalping top-10 player Dominic Thiem, lost 3-6, 7-6(5), 2-6 to Mahut in two hours and 29 minutes.
India's Ramkumar Ramanathan stormed into the singles semi-finals of the Eckental Challenger with a ruthless win over fourth seed Evgeny Donskoy, in Eckental, Germany, on Friday.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Friday
India's Ramkumar Ramanathan fought back from a set down to beat Germany's Marvin Moller 4-6, 6-1, 6-1 and enter the final of the Eckental Challenger tennis tournament, in Eckental, Germany, on Saturday.
Ramkumar Ramanathan failed to make it to the main draw of a Grand Slam yet after losing in the first round of the US Open qualifiers, in New York, on Wednesday.
Steve Johnson beat first-time ATP finalist Indian Ramkumar Ramanathan 7-5, 3-6, 6-2 at the Hall of Fame Open in Newport, Rhode Island on Sunday for his fourth career title and second of 2018.
Young Indian Davis Cupper Ramkumar Ramanathan advanced to the second round of the Savannah Challenger but Yuki Bhambri, who has returned to circuit after a month, went down fighting in the Gimcheon event in Korea.
India's singles players yet again failed to cross the qualifying hurdle at the Grand Slam stage as both Ramkumar Ramanathan and Yuki Bhambri exited the Wimbledon championships
India's singles tennis players will return empty-handed from the Asian Games for the first time since 2006.
Bianca Andreescu rolls to first-round win at Strasbourg.
Ramkumar will meet American Steve Johnson, who beat Spain's Marcel Granollers 6-3, 6-3 in the other semi-final, for the Hall of Fame Open title in Rhode Island on Sunday.
India blunted Pakistan's challenge on the opening day to take a 2-0 lead in the Davis Cup World Group I play-off tie with Ramkumar Ramanathan and N Sriram Balaji rising to the occasion in the high-pressure contest, in Islamabad on Saturday.
Yuki Bhambri returned to Davis Cup action with a commanding victory while Ramkumar Ramanathan did not even need his 'A game' to emerge victorious as India grabbed a 2-0 lead in the World Group I Play-off tie against Denmark, in New Delhi, on Friday.
In a bold decision, Underdogs India have preferred Ramkumar Ramanathan over No. 1 singles player Sumit Nagal for their Davis Cup qualifier against top seeds Croatia, beginning in Zagreb on Friday.
Indian tennis players' struggle at the Grand Slam events continued as both Sumit Nagal and Ramkumar Ramanathan lost their respective first round singles matches to make an exit from the US Open qualifiers.
Sumit Nagal was beaten by Italy's Stefano Napolitano in the semi-finals.
Ramanathan, who is seeded 15th in the Qualifiers, lost 3-6, 4-6 to Italian Simone Bolleli, while 239th ranked Sumit Nagal, who is going through a rough patch, suffered his eighth straight first round defeat when he was thrashed 2-6, 0-6 by Poland's Kamil Majchrzak, ranked 192.
India's number one player Prajnesh Gunneswaran, who achieved career-high 102 ranking this week, has been drawn against 22-year-old debutant Matteo Berrettini in the second singles rubber at the Calcutta South Club grass courts.
Yuki Bhambri advanced to the men's singles second round after a hard-fought win over Moldovian Radu Albot in the US Open qualifiers in New York.
Sumit Nagal registered a straight-sets win over Argentine qualifier Nicolas Kicker.
Davis Cupper Ramkumar Ramanathan rallied past New Zealand's Jose Statham to enter the quarter-finals of the US $50,000 ATP Challenger hardcourt tournament, in Binghamton, United States. The 214-ranked Indian, who made his Davis Cup debut last week in Chandigarh against South Korea, won 2-6, 6-4, 7-6(3) in two hours and 22 minutes.
Rohan Bopanna and Ramkumar Ramanathan blew away their chances in the must-win doubles match as India lost the World Group I tie to Finland after conceding an unassailable 0-3 lead, in Espoo on Saturday.
Rafael Nadal to play against Ram Kumar Ramanathan on the first day of their Davis Cup World Group play-off tie in New Delhi on Friday.
