WTA Chennai Open 2026: Indians eye crucial ranking points amid a depleted field

Vaishnavi Adkar during a practice session before the start of Chennai Open. | Photo Credit: Ragu R.

In the last week of a long and hectic tennis season, most players are usually running on fumes and already thinking about either off-season training or planning their vacation.

The flip side, however, is that some view it as that time of the year where they can collect crucial ranking points and set themselves up for the next season.

It is this duality which may ultimately decide who wins the third edition of the WTA 250 Chennai Open, which gets underway at the SDAT Stadium in Nungambakkam on Monday.

The field for what is the last Tour-level event in the country for the foreseeable future - this WTA 250 tournament shifts to the Philippines next year - is not particularly strong with Indonesian World No. 47 Janice Tjen, the reigning champion, and Austrian World No. 53 Lilli Tagger being the top two seeds. During the same week, Hong Kong is hosting a WTA 250 tournament, which has been recognised as the best WTA 250 event on the circuit in the last two years. Even though both events have the same prize pool of $283,347, Hong Kong has attracted not only a significant number of Top 50 stars but also awarded a wild card to seven-time Major champion Venus Williams.

Despite the relatively weaker draw in Chennai, none of the Indians could make the cut purely on ranking. Vaishnavi Adkar (#334), Sahaja Yamalapalli (#369) and top Indian female junior Maaya Rajeshwaran Revathi (#716) will look to justify the main draw wildcards awarded to them by the Tamil Nadu Tennis Association.

In the previous two editions in 2022 and 2025, no Indian has managed to go past the second round. The 21-year-old Vaishnavi, who lost to Paris Olympics silver medallist Donna Vekic in the first round last year, is aware of the challenges of playing a Tour-level event as compared to the ITFs. “Against the higher-ranked players, more balls will come back. You have to be physically and mentally stronger to stay in every point,” said the top-ranked Indian on the eve of the tournament.

Sahaja feels it is important to block out the noise related to the significance of this event for Indian players in order to avoid any unnecessary stress. “I know pressure is a privilege and everyone around us says that this tournament is an opportunity which we have to make use of but I don’t like to think that way. I consider this as another stage to prove ourselves, one point at a time, and don’t think about the win-loss or this being the biggest tournament for us because all of this adds more pressure and then, it doesn’t help you to be in the zone,” said the 26-year-old.

The weather could play spoilsport, just like last year when the first two days of the main draw were completely washed out. According to the India Meteorological Department, thunderstorms and lightning are expected on Monday and Tuesday.

For the first time in the tournament’s history, the Electronic Line Calling system will be used on all three match courts.

Published on Nov 01, 2026

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