$25K ITF Women Circuit, Japan,March-April 2018 (Ankita,Karman)

[bujilover]

Ankita seems physically strong and fit. She raced away to a 3-0 lead in the second set.

Too bad she would have to face a WTA level player in Kumkhum in QF who is meaninglessly playing these low level challengers.

[sameerph]

What was surprising to me was that there were no ballboys or ballgirls!!.

We saw that in an earlier ITF too when Karman was playing. Seems to be a norm in tournaments outside India.

[suresh]

Yes, I don't get why KumKhum is playing this tournament? Hope Ankita beats her in the QF.

[ornatebrute]

Even I thought that Luksika should be playing the higher level WTA tournaments. But then after her victory last week she gave her reason.
https://t.co/Efp69TnWv9?amp=1

[suresh]

This is a quote from the article linked by @ornatebrute

Luksika Kumkhum may be Thailand’s top female tennis player but she revealed her frustration at having such a limited budget she is forced to travel to several overseas tournaments without her coach

One would have thought that Thailand would be marginally better than India in supporting their top player. Hope she gets enough funding to play higher level tournaments with a coach.

[sameerph]

And Ankita completes a dominating win over a tricky player who had beat Karman earlier.

At $25K ITF Women, Kashiwa

[R2] Ankita Raina (IND,212) d. (Q) Chihiro Muramatsu (JPN,390) 62 61

Next,

[QF] Ankita Raina (IND,212) vs. (2) Luksika Kumkhum (THA,103)

[Varma]

She made $110,000+ in the first 3 months of 2018 which seems good enough to support herself the way she wants. Choosing to play a $25K by complaining about her federation doesn't make sense to me.

- Varma

[suresh]

@Varma She is not complaining about her federation but about lack of sponsorship.

[arjun2761]

She made $110,000+ in the first 3 months of 2018 which seems good enough to support herself the way she wants. Choosing to play a $25K by complaining about her federation doesn't make sense to me.

- Varma

I think you have misread a decimal place, as the Wta site shows her career earnings to be around 134k.

[sameerph]

I think Verma is talking about Luksika Kumkhum while Arjun is talking about Ankita.

Luksika's YTD earnings are indeed $110K most which she earned at Australian open where she qualified in and reached the third round. I agree with Verma that with those earning, her excuse to not to travel to US for IW/Miami looks lame. And even if she is not able to take her coach along, she could have travelled alone. There are so many players travelling to tournaments without a coach.

[suresh]

Disastrous day for doubles. Both our players lost.

[PKBasu]

Great to see Ankita make another QF in a $25K. Pity Lusika Khumkhum is wasting her time spoiling the draw in such tournaments after making R3 at the AO.
But of course it’ll be a terrific scalp for Ankita if she wins their QF.

[jayakris]

@Varma She is not complaining about her federation but about lack of sponsorship.

Whomever she is complaining about, she is out of line, and we have to agree with Verma. $110K is a lot of money, and she could have easily had any number of people accompany her during these 4 months if she was willing to spend even 1/4th of that money. So many of these players like to complain all the time about lack of support, and it is bothersome!....

Luksika should look at those like Ankita who make a living on the tour with much much less than she makes.

But it is seriously a crime that AITA is not supporting this fabulous fighter, who has plodded along all by herself, and has now become one of the best women players we have ever produced.

[Omkara]

Is she still excluded from TOP scheme ......if yes then what a shame !!!!!!

Somdev's logic is that she is not good enough to play the grand slams. Now that is his assessment and one has to respect that to some extent. She has also been criticised in this forum for stagnating at the challenger level. That is validated by her year ends rankings in the last several years where she has been just under 300. What ever be the reason, clearly her game has picked up a notch after that slight (real or perceived is for posterity to judge) and she has entered the top 200 and will be playing qualifiers in grand slam events. I would love it if Ankita qualifies into a GS or two this year.

Ankita has indeed raised her game and physique to the next level. I remember seeing her play in Mumbai. First thing you notice is her height (so low for a tennis player) and as a result a weak serve. But her shot making has always been her strength. I have only seen her picks but she seems to have improved upon her physique a lot. Overcoming all this she has made this stride into top 200. Its a big feat.

Very few in Indian tennis has been able to do so. A peak into career high rank of Indians reveal the same. All of them suffered from lack of support but here is a example of someone who overcame that. Even i would like to see her make it to the MD of a slam. She may just be able to fund her own coach and journey towards the next leg.

[PKBasu]

Really amazing commitment and self-driven effort by Ankita.
She is still ranked #197 in the live WTA rankings -- presumably because this week's points will only go in a week later. But great job by her to follow up a SF with a QF in Japan.