Leander Paes. Mahesh Bhupathi. Sania Mirza. Rohan Bopanna.
In the 21st century, Indian doubles tennis has thrived at the big stage, with the four aces named above having won 30 Grand Slam titles between them since 2000.
But Indian players reaching the main draw at the majors in the singles is a rare occurrence. Over the past decade, there have been only three such individuals – Sania Mirza, Somdev Devvarman and Yuki Bhambri – with only one (Mirza) having reached the third round or better.
Over the coming week, Karman Kaur Thandi will look to join that elusive list as she competes in the qualifying rounds for the Australian Open 2019.
The 20-year-old shared a post on her Instagram handle on Thursday, 3 January, ahead of her departure to Melbourne.
The qualifying stage for the year’s first tennis Grand Slam is a three-round affair, which kicks off on Tuesday, 8 January. A total of 16 spots in the women’s singles draw of 128 for the tournament proper are up for grabs through the qualifiers, while tournament organisers can also hand out nine wildcards in addition.
Thandi’s bid for a main draw berth might be against the odds, with a majority of competitors in the qualifiers much higher-placed than her world number 207 ranking.
But the up-and-comer heads Down Under with spirits high after a breakthrough 2018 – in the past year, Thandi became only the fifth Indian woman to be placed in the WTA ranking charts by breaking into the top-200, apart from claiming one title and two runners-up finishes on the ITF circuit.
Sania Mirza, at the Australian Open 2012, was the last Indian to qualify for the women’s singles main draw at a Grand Slam. Among the men, Yuki Bhambri qualified for all majors in 2018, crashing out in the first round at all four events.
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