“Just want to give my best”: Yashaswini ahead of WTT Star Contender Chennai
Yashaswini Ghorpade is a fan of Manika Batra and idolises the star paddler’s game. In fact, both play with long pimples on the backhand and plain rubber on the forehand.
As part of the Indian team camp held in Bengaluru and later in Sweden, the 20-year-old from Bengaluru enjoyed her first experience training with the Indian women’s team.
“I am fond of Manika’s game. We have discussed our playing styles. I asked her a few questions, and she gave very warm answers. I felt very good,” said Yashaswini.
The training camp in Bengaluru and Sweden, she said, was both intense and rewarding. “We played with the Swedish national team, where the 2019 World Championship men’s singles finalist Mattias Falck was present. The bonding with the team was amazing,” she added.
Despite only beginning to compete full-time on the women’s circuit last year, Yashaswini has made impressive progress. She is now the fourth-highest-ranked Indian in the world at 80, her highest-ever ranking to date.
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Yashaswini had a strong 2024, reaching the finals of the WTT Feeder in Doha, the quarterfinals of the WTT Feeder in Dusseldorf, and the WTT Contender in Lagos. Notably, she entered the main draw of the Singapore Smash this year as a qualifier, gaining crucial ranking points.
“The Lagos and Singapore Smash were my best performances. In Doha, I never expected to reach the final. I beat a few Japanese players and one from Singapore. I was a bit down in the pre-quarterfinals, but I fought back to reach the final. In the Singapore Smash, I was in good form as it followed immediately after the Senior National Championships, where I reached the semifinals,” said the Belagavi-born paddler.
Playing in the women’s events on the WTT Tour, Yashaswini said, has been an enjoyable experience. “I wouldn’t say it was hectic. I would rather say it was amazing because I could focus on just one event. Earlier, I had to juggle between youth and senior events,” she explained.
Yashaswini fondly recalls the WTT Star Contender in Goa in 2023, where she qualified for the main draw. “It was great. I beat some good Korean players, and doing it in India was a fantastic feeling,” she said. Adding to the experience, a few fans from Bengaluru came to cheer her on.
“Many people came to support me. I was in the main draw again in 2024, where I beat a higher-ranked player, Tatiana Kukulkova of the Slovak Republic, who was in the world’s top 80. I lost to the second seed, Xiaoxin Yang of Monaco, in the second round. It felt really good to score an upset win,” she said.
She has no specific expectations from the WTT Star Contender Chennai event, which begins on March 27. “There are many Indians in the main draw now, along with top players from Japan and Korea. So, I guess all of us will just focus on giving our best,” Yashaswini said.