ITF W35 Kalaburagi: Adkar, Raina Reach Singles Semis- Set Up All-Indian Doubles Final

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Kalaburagi, March 6: Third seeded Vaishnavi Adkar and eighth seed Ankita Raina continued their impressive run at the ITF W35 Kalaburagi, advancing to the semifinals in both the singles and doubles events after commanding performances on Friday.

Adkar delivered a commanding performance to defeat Elina Nepliy 6-1, 6-3, while Raina produced an equally dominant display, brushing aside Evgeniya Burdina 6-0, 6-2 to secure her place in the semifinals. The two Indians later joined forces in the doubles semifinals, overcoming Sonal Patil and Bela Tamhankar to progress to the final. In the other semifinal, Akanksha Dileep Nitture and Karnataka's Soha Sadiq advanced to set up the second doubles final pairing.

Adkar's All-Round Brilliance Seals Semifinal Spot

Adkar started strongly in her quarterfinal, striking confidently from both wings to break Nepliy early and move into a 3-0 lead. Although Nepliy attempted to disrupt her rhythm with well-timed drop shots and engaged in a lengthy deuce battle, Adkar maintained control and forced errors from her opponent to stretch the lead to 4-0. Nepliy managed to hold serve once late in the set, but Adkar quickly wrapped up the opener 6-1 with a composed service game.

The second set followed a similar pattern as Adkar secured an early break and then held serve under pressure. Nepliy briefly reduced the deficit and capitalised on a few service errors from Adkar to make it 4-2, but the Indian responded immediately with a series of backhand winners to break again and move ahead 5-2. Nepliy managed another break after a long deuce game, yet Adkar raised her level once more, producing clean returns to close out the match 6-3.

Ankita Raina Cruises Past Burdina To Reach Semifinals

Ankita Raina began aggressively against Burdina, breaking in the opening game by forcing multiple errors from the Russian before comfortably holding serve. Burdina struggled to settle, committing double faults and unforced mistakes as Raina surged to a 3-0 lead. Raina continued to dominate rallies and extended her advantage to 5-0 before Burdina took a medical timeout. After returning to the court, the Russian was unable to halt Raina's momentum as the Indian sealed the set 6-0.

The second set began with both players exchanging breaks, but Burdina's inconsistency continued. Raina capitalised in the fifth game and consolidated the break with a solid hold to move 4-2 ahead. Maintaining firm control from the baseline, she pushed the score to 5-2 before closing out the match in the eighth game after earning three match points, with Burdina sending a return long.

Adkar / Raina Set Up All-Indian Doubles Final With Semifinal Win

In the doubles semifinals, Adkar and Raina edged past Sonal Patil and Bela Tamhankar 7-6(5), 6-2 to book their spot in the final. After narrowly claiming a tightly contested opening set, the duo took firm control in the second to seal the victory.

In the other semifinal, Akanksha Dileep Nitture and Soha Sadiq mounted a spirited comeback to defeat Sravya Shivani Chilakalapudi and Japan's Michika Ozeki 6-7(7), 6-0, [10-5], setting up an all-Indian doubles final.

Brief Results

Singles Quarterfinals

• Vaishnavi Adkar (IND) bt Elina Nepliy 6-1, 6-3;
• Ankita Raina (IND) bt Evgeniya Burdina 6-0, 6-2;
• Thasaporn Naklo (THA) bt 2-Anchisa Chanta (THA) 6-4, 6-1
• Jasmijn Gimbrere (NED) bt Maayan Laron (ISR) 6-2, 6-2

Doubles Semifinals

• Vaishnavi Adkar (IND) / Ankita Raina (IND) bt Sonal Patil (IND) / Bela Tamhankar (IND) 7-6(5), 6-2
• Akanksha Dileep Nitture (IND) / Soha Sadiq (IND) bt Sravya Shivani Chilakalapudi (IND) / Michika Ozeki (JPN) 6-7(7), 6-0, [10-5]