Bengaluru, February 17 India's Sahaja Yamalapalli delivered a tenacious three-set performance to secure her place in the round of 16 of the KPB Trust ITF Women's Open W100 Bengaluru 2026, overcoming a mid-match slump to achieve a 6-2 1-6 6-2 victory in an exciting singles match here on Tuesday.
Yamalapalli started the match against Korea's Dayeon Back strongly, playing cleanly from the baseline and confidently moving towards the net to control the game in the first set. Her aggressive approach ensured she won the first set convincingly.
The momentum shifted in the second set as a series of unforced errors crept into her game. Her opponent capitalized on this, disrupting Yamalapalli's rhythm, which resulted in her losing the set.
However, Yamalapalli quickly recovered in the third set. With the score tied at 2-2, Yamalapalli raised her level, winning the remaining games to complete a convincing victory.
Later in the day, the doubles pair of Ankita Raina and Indonesia's Priska Madelyn Nugroho delivered a dominant 6-4 6-1 victory.
Facing Poland's Zuzanna Pawlikow and India's Vasanti Shinde, the pair were engaged in a tight battle throughout the opening set. With the score finely balanced at 5-4, Raina stepped up in the 10th game, unleashing a series of powerful returns to break serve and win the set 6-4.
Carrying this momentum into the second set, Raina and Nugroho broke Shinde's serve early to establish control. From there, they dictated the game with confident net play and consistent serving, racing to win the set and close out the match.
In other singles results, the all-Indian wildcard clash saw Vaishnavi Adkar defeat Shruti Ahlawat 6-1 7-6 in a competitive match, while eighth seed Mai Hontama won 6-2 6-1 against Diletta Cherubini and Erika Andreeva advanced after Nicole Fossa Huergo retired while trailing 7-6(12), 1-0.
In doubles action, the Indian pair of Shrivalli Rashmikaa Bhamidipaty and Maaya Rajeshwaran Revathi secured a 6-1 6-3 victory over Harshini N Nagaraj and Vanshita Pathania.
Meanwhile, the Japanese pair of Misaki Matsuda and Eri Shimizu defeated Polina Bakhmutkina and Maria Golovina 6-4 6-2.
The fourth-seeded pair of Dayeon Back and Sohyun Park defeated the Indian pair of Akanksha Dileep Nitture and Soha Sadiq 6-2 6-1.