Ankita Raina, one of India’s most consistent tennis stars, continues to make her mark on the international stage, steadily climbing the ranks and bringing glory to Indian tennis. Born on January 11, 1993, in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, Raina picked up a tennis racket at the age of five and hasn’t looked back since.
She made her professional debut in 2009 at an ITF tournament in Mumbai and quickly emerged as a force on the circuit. Her first ITF doubles title came in 2011 with Aishwarya Agrawal, followed by her maiden ITF singles crown in 2012.
Raina’s breakthrough moment arrived in 2017 at the Mumbai Open, where she stunned higher-ranked opponents—Thailand’s Peangtarn Plipuech and Russia’s Veronika Kudermetova—to reach the quarter-finals. A strong presence on the national team, she played a crucial role in India’s Billie Jean King Cup campaigns from 2014 to 2019.
At the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta, Raina clinched a bronze medal in women’s singles, affirming her place among the continent’s top players. That same year, she won the doubles title at the OEC Taipei WTA Challenger alongside compatriot Karman Kaur Thandi.
Her momentum continued into 2019, when she claimed the ITF 25 title in Singapore by defeating Dutch player Arantxa Rus. In 2020, partnering with the Netherlands’ Bibiane Schoofs, she won back-to-back ITF titles in Nonthaburi, Thailand, and helped India make history by qualifying for the Billie Jean King Cup Group 2 play-offs for the first time.
In 2021, Raina became only the fifth Indian woman to feature in the Open Era of a Grand Slam event, making her debut in doubles at the Australian Open with Romanian Mihaela Buzărnescu. Shortly after, she secured her first WTA Tour-level singles main draw win at the Phillip Island Trophy in Melbourne, defeating Elizabetta Cocciaretto. She went on to capture the doubles title at the same tournament with Russian partner Kamilla Rakhimova.
With 11 singles and 18 doubles titles on the ITF circuit, Ankita Raina has won at least one title every year since 2011, except in 2015. She stands as a beacon of resilience, dedication, and steady excellence in Indian tennis, second only to Sania Mirza in competing in a women’s doubles Grand Slam event.
As she continues her journey on the global tennis stage, Raina remains a source of inspiration for aspiring athletes across the country.
