Introduction
Ankita Ravinderkrishan Raina (born 11 January 1993) is an Indian professional tennis player and the current Indian No. 1 in both women’s singles (since 2013) and doubles (since 2019).
Raina has won one WTA Challenger in doubles, along with eleven singles and seventeen doubles titles on the ITF Women's Circuit. In April 2018, she entered the top 200 singles rankings for the first time, becoming only the fifth player representing India to achieve this feat. Raina has also won gold medals in the women's singles and mixed-doubles events at the 2016 South Asian Games, and won a bronze medal in singles at the 2018 Asian Games.
Playing for India at the Fed Cup, Raina has a win-loss record of 18–14. She has notable wins over Zhu Lin (CHN) and Yulia Putintseva (KAZ), both at the 2018 Fed Cup.
Personal life
Raina was born in the western Indian state of Gujarat to a Kashmiri Pandit family. Her family hails from the town of Tral in Pulwama district, Kashmir. Raina is fluent in Hindi, Gujarati, and English. Raina briefly studied at Brihan Maharashtra.
At the national events, Raina has represented her home state Gujarat. Her idols growing up were Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Serena Williams and Sania Mirza.
Raina trains at the Hemant Bendrey Tennis Academy at the PYC Hindu Gymkhana in Pune, and is coached by Hemant Bendrey.
Career
Raina started playing tennis at the age of five. Following a promising junior career, Raina made her first professional appearance in 2009, at a small ITF tournament in Mumbai. In 2010, she continued to participate in local ITF events with limited success. Raina's 2011 season saw her advance to three ITF circuit finals in doubles, winning one with countrywoman Aishwarya Agrawal. In 2012, she won her first professional singles title in New Delhi and won three more in doubles. This was followed by a few years of mediocre results on the ITF Women's Circuit.
Raina won two matches at the 2017 Mumbai Open, advancing to the biggest quarterfinal of her career. This would turn out to be her breakthrough tournament. In April 2018, she reached a ranking of world No. 181 after winning a $25K ITF title, becoming the fifth Indian national to crack to the top-200 ladies singles rankings, following Nirupama Sanjeev, Sania Mirza, Shikha Uberoi, and Sunitha Rao.
In August 2018, Ankita won the bronze medal in the Asian Games at Jakarta, Indonesia in singles event. Raina and Sania Mirza are the only players representing India to have won a singles medal at the Asian Games.
At the 2019 Kunming Open, Raina got her first top-100 win, defeating Samantha Stosur, former US Open champion and top 10 player, scoring the biggest win of her career. In October 2019, Raina entered the top 150 doubles rankings for the first time, after reaching the finals of the 2019 Suzhou Ladies Open with partner Rosalie van der Hoek. She bettered this feat by winning two back-to-back ITF titles in Nonthaburi alongside Bibiane Schoofs; followed by reaching her first WTA semifinal at the 2020 Thailand Open alongside Rosalie. This gave Raina a new career-high raking of No. 123 in doubles.
Playing style
Raina is a steady baseliner who primarily relies on her speed and counterpunching abilities to outlast her opponents. She hits with plenty of topspin on both her forehand and backhand, and can hit in all directions comfortably. She also uses the backhand slice quite often, as a way of varying the pattern of a rally. Raina is comfortable with volleying, and approaches the net whenever she gets her opponent running or out of position. She doesn't use the drop shot or lob too frequently, but brings them out as a surprise tactic. Raina's biggest strength is her baseline consistency. She can stay toe-to-toe with most players from the back of the court, and can get a majority of shots back in play. Raina has a solid first serve, but it is her second serve that gives her an advantage at the start of a point. She can hit a good kick serve, which opens up the court for an easy putaway. Raina also has a good return of serve, and is capable of neutralizing most big serves by sending them back with precision. She is also quite efficient at the net, and can take the attack to the opponent on fast courts with her purposeful volleys. Raina's biggest weakness is the lack of firepower on her groundstrokes. She can't match the raw muscle strength of the top players, and so is frequently in danger of getting blown off the court. Recently, she has been moving a lot better on the court as well.
Sponsorship and equipment
In her junior years, Raina was helped by Dishman Pharmaceuticals and Chemicals to participate in overseas junior tournaments. Since then, she has been supported by Bharat Forge and Lakshya. Most recently, Raina has signed sponsorship deals with the Sports Authority of Gujarat and Yonex, and she is officially employed with ONGC. Hence, Raina uses Yonex racquets and clothing. Adani Group is her current supporter.
In 2013, Raina met Narendra Modi, India's then-future prime minister, and officially was recognised under the Shaktidhoot scheme and hence became a part of India's goal of reaching Olympic podiums.
WTA 125K series finals
Doubles: 1 (1 title)
| Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | Nov 2018 | WTA Taipei, Taiwan | Carpet | Karman Thandi | Olga Doroshina Natela Dzalamidze |
6–3, 5–7, [12–12], ret. |
ITF circuit finals
Singles: 21 (11 titles, 10 runner–ups)
| Finals by surface |
|---|
| Legend |
| $100,000 tournaments |
| $75,000/$80,000 tournaments |
| $50,000/$60,000 tournaments |
| $25,000 tournaments |
| $10,000/$15,000 tournaments |
| Finals by surface |
| Hard (10–8) |
| Clay (1–1) |
| Grass (0–1) |
| Carpet (0–0) |
| $100,000 tournaments |
| $75,000/$80,000 tournaments |
| $50,000/$60,000 tournaments |
| $25,000 tournaments |
| $10,000/$15,000 tournaments |
| Hard (10–8) |
| Clay (1–1) |
| Grass (0–1) |
| Carpet (0–0) |
| Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | Apr 2012 | ITF Fujairah, United Arab Emirates | 10,000 | Hard | Fatma Al-Nabhani | 3–6, 2–6 | |
| Win | Jun 2012 | ITF New Delhi, India | 10,000 | Hard | Prerna Bhambri | 6–4, 6–2 | |
| Loss | Jul 2012 | ITF New Delhi, India | 10,000 | Hard | Miyabi Inoue | 2–6, 2–6 | |
| Loss | Mar 2013 | ITF Hyderabad, India | 10,000 | Hard | Bárbara Luz | 6–4, 6–7, 6–7 | |
| Loss | Mar 2013 | ITF Hyderabad, India | 10,000 | Hard | Bárbara Luz | 6–2, 3–6, 1–6 | |
| Win | Apr 2013 | ITF Chennai, India | 10,000 | Clay | Natasha Palha | 6–3, 6–1 | |
| Loss | Apr 2013 | ITF Lucknow, India | 10,000 | Grass | Emi Mutaguchi | 6–3, 6–7, 1–6 | |
| Loss | Jun 2013 | ITF Qarshi, Uzbekistan | 25,000 | Hard | Sabina Sharipova | 3–6, 3–6 | |
| Win | Jun 2013 | ITF New Delhi, India | 10,000 | Hard | Eetee Maheta | 6–3, 6–2 | |
| Win | Jul 2013 | ITF New Delhi, India | 10,000 | Hard | Kanika Vaidya | 6–4, 6–4 | |
| Loss | May 2014 | ITF Balikpapan, Indonesia | 25,000 | Clay | Zhu Lin | 5–7, 6–2, 3–6 | |
| Win | Dec 2014 | ITF Pune, India | 25,000 | Hard | Katy Dunne | 6–2, 6–2 | |
| Loss | Apr 2015 | ITF Ahmedabad, India | 25,000 | Hard | Anastasija Sevastova | 4–6, 6–7 | |
| Loss | May 2017 | ITF Lu'an, China | 60,000 | Hard | Zhu Lin | 3–6, 6–3, 4–6 | |
| Win | Mar 2018 | ITF Gwalior, India | 25,000 | Hard | Amandine Hesse | 6–2, 7–5 | |
| Win | Jul 2018 | ITF Nonthaburi, Thailand | 25,000 | Hard | Risa Ozaki | 6–2, 6–3 | |
| Win | Jan 2019 | ITF Singapore | 25,000 | Hard | Arantxa Rus | 6–3, 6–2 | |
| Loss | Apr 2019 | ITF Istanbul, Turkey | 60,000 | Hard | Vitalia Diatchenko | 4–6, 0–6 | |
| Win | Dec 2019 | ITF Solapur, India | 25,000 | Hard | Naiktha Bains | 6–3, 6–3 | |
| Win | Jan 2020 | ITF Nonthaburi, Thailand | 25,000 | Hard | Chloé Paquet | 6–3, 7–5 | |
| Win | Feb 2020 | ITF Jodhpur, India | 25,000 | Hard | Berfu Cengiz | 7–5, 6–1 |
Doubles: 27 (17 titles, 13 runner–ups)
| Finals by surface |
|---|
| Legend |
| $100,000 tournaments |
| $75,000/$80,000 tournaments |
| $50,000/$60,000 tournaments |
| $25,000 tournaments |
| $10,000/$15,000 tournaments |
| Finals by surface |
| Hard (13–8) |
| Clay (3–4) |
| Grass (1–1) |
| Carpet (0–0) |
| $100,000 tournaments |
| $75,000/$80,000 tournaments |
| $50,000/$60,000 tournaments |
| $25,000 tournaments |
| $10,000/$15,000 tournaments |
| Hard (13–8) |
| Clay (3–4) |
| Grass (1–1) |
| Carpet (0–0) |
| Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | Jan 2011 | ITF Kolkata, India | 10,000 | Clay | Poojashree Venkatesha | Nicole Clerico Dalila Jakupovič |
3–6, 1–6 | |
| Loss | Apr 2011 | ITF Lucknow, India | 10,000 | Grass | Aishwarya Agrawal | Anja Prislan Kyra Shroff |
3–6, 3–6 | |
| Win | May 2011 | ITF New Delhi, India | 10,000 | Hard | Aishwarya Agrawal | Fatma Al-Nabhani Rushmi Chakravarthi |
6–4, 6–3 | |
| Win | May 2012 | ITF New Delhi, India | 10,000 | Hard | Rushmi Chakravarthi | Liu Yuxuan Zhao Qianqian |
6–1, 6–4 | |
| Win | May 2012 | ITF New Delhi, India | 10,000 | Hard | Rushmi Chakravarthi | Sri Peddy Reddy Prarthana Thombare |
6–3, 6–2 | |
| Win | Jun 2012 | ITF New Delhi, India | 10,000 | Hard | Aishwarya Agrawal | Ester Masuri Naomi Totka |
6–1, 6–4 | |
| Loss | Apr 2013 | ITF Chennai, India | 10,000 | Clay | Rushmi Chakravarthi | Natasha Palha Prarthana Thombare |
7–5, 3–6, [6–10] | |
| Loss | Jul 2013 | ITF New Delhi, India | 10,000 | Hard | Shweta Rana | Sharmada Balu Sowjanya Bavisetti |
2–6, 4–6 | |
| Win | Jan 2014 | ITF Aurangabad, India | 10,000 | Clay | Prarthana Thombare | Shweta Rana Rishika Sunkara |
6–3, 6–3 | |
| Loss | May 2014 | ITF Tianjin, China | 25,000 | Hard | Fatma Al-Nabhani | Liu Chang Ran Tian |
1–6, 5–7 | |
| Win | Nov 2014 | ITF Mumbai, India | 25,000 | Hard | Lu Jiajing | Nicha Lertpitaksinchai Peangtarn Plipuech |
6–4, 1–6, [11–9] | |
| Win | Dec 2014 | ITF Lucknow, India | 15,000 | Grass | Emily Webley-Smith | Rushmi Chakravarthi Nidhi Chilumula |
6–2, 6–4 | |
| Loss | Aug 2015 | ITF Westende, Belgium | 25,000 | Hard | Alyona Sotnikova | Indy de Vroome Lesley Kerkhove |
6–7, 4–6 | |
| Loss | Jun 2016 | ITF Fergana, Uzbekistan | 25,000 | Hard | Prerna Bhambri | Polina Monova Yana Sizikova |
6–7, 2–6 | |
| Win | Sep 2016 | ITF Zhuhai, China | 50,000 | Hard | Emily Webley-Smith | Guo Hanyu Jiang Xinyu |
6–4, 6–4 | |
| Win | Apr 2017 | ITF Pula, Italy | 25,000 | Clay | Eva Wacanno | Irene Burillo Escorihuela Yvonne Cavallé Reimers |
6–4, 6–4 | |
| Win | May 2017 | ITF Hua Hin, Thailand | 25,000 | Hard | Emily Webley-Smith | Nudnida Luangnam Zhang Yukun |
6–2, 6–0 | |
| Win | Aug 2017 | ITF Koksijde, Belgium | 25,000 | Clay | Bibiane Schoofs | Marie Benoît Magali Kempen |
3–6, 6–3, [11–9] | |
| Loss | Aug 2017 | ITF Leipzig, Germany | 25,000 | Clay | Tereza Mrdeža | Valentyna Ivakhnenko Lidziya Marozava |
2–6, 1–6 | |
| Win | Aug 2017 | ITF Artvin, Turkey | 60,000 | Hard | Gabriela Cé | Elitsa Kostova Yana Sizikova |
6–2, 6–3 | |
| Win | May 2018 | ITF Lu'an, China | 60,000 | Hard | Harriet Dart | Liu Fangzhou Xun Fangying |
6–3, 6–3 | |
| Win | Nov 2018 | ITF Pune, India | 25,000 | Hard | Karman Thandi | Aleksandrina Naydenova Tamara Zidanšek |
6–2, 6–7, [11–9] | |
| Loss | Jul 2019 | ITF Versmold, Germany | 60,000 | Clay | Bibiane Schoofs | Amina Anshba Anastasia Dețiuc |
6–0, 3–6, [8–10] | |
| Loss | Aug 2019 | ITF Woking, United Kingdom | 25,000 | Hard | Naiktha Bains | Sarah Beth Grey Eden Silva |
2–6, 5–7 | |
| Loss | Oct 2019 | ITF Suzhou, China | 100,000 | Hard | Rosalie van der Hoek | Jiang Xinyu Tang Qianhui |
6–3, 3–6, [5–10] | |
| Loss | Nov 2019 | ITF Liuzhou, China | 60,000 | Hard | Rosalie van der Hoek | Jiang Xinyu Tang Qianhui |
4–6, 4–6 | |
| Win | Dec 2019 | ITF Solapur, India | 25,000 | Hard | Ulrikke Eikeri | Berfu Cengiz Despina Papamichail |
5–7, 6–4, [10–3] | |
| Win | Jan 2020 | ITF Nonthaburi, Thailand | 25,000 | Hard | Bibiane Schoofs | Supapitch Kuearum Mananchaya Sawangkaew |
6–4, 6–2 | |
| Win | Jan 2020 | ITF Nonthaburi, Thailand | 25,000 | Hard | Bibiane Schoofs | Miyabi Inoue Kang Jiaqi |
6–2, 3–6, [10–7] | |
| Loss | Feb 2020 | ITF Jodhpur, India | 25,000 | Hard | Snehal Mane | Rutuja Bhosale Miyabi Inoue |
6–4, 4–6, [8–10] |
Fed Cup participation
Singles
| Edition | Stage | Date | Location | Against | Surface | Opponent | W/L | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 Fed Cup Asia/Oceania Zone Group II |
R/R | 5 February 2014 | Astana, Kazakhstan | Pakistan | Hard (i) | Sara Mansoor | W | 6–1, 6–2 |
| 6 February 2014 | New Zealand | Marina Erakovic | L | 1–6, 2–6 | ||||
| P/O | 7 February 2014 | Hong Kong | Zhang Ling | L | 3–6, 4–6 | |||
| 2015 Fed Cup Asia/Oceania Zone Group II |
R/R | 15 April 2015 | Hyderabad, India | Pakistan | Hard | Ushna Suhail | W | 6–0, 6–1 |
| 16 April 2015 | Malaysia | Jawairiah Noordin | W | 6–1, 3–6, 6–4 | ||||
| P/O | 17 April 2015 | Turkmenistan | Anastasiya Prenko | W | 6–1, 6–2 | |||
| 2016 Fed Cup Asia/Oceania Zone Group I |
R/R | 3 February 2016 | Hua Hin, Thailand | Thailand | Hard | Luksika Kumkhum | L | 6–7, 3–6 |
| 4 February 2016 | Japan | Nao Hibino | W | 6–3, 6–1 | ||||
| 5 February 2016 | Uzbekistan | Nigina Abduraimova | W | 6–1, 6–0 | ||||
| 2017 Fed Cup Asia/Oceania Zone Group I |
R/R | 8 February 2017 | Astana, Kazakhstan | Japan | Hard (i) | Misaki Doi | L | 0–6, 3–6 |
| 9 February 2017 | China | Zhu Lin | L | 3–6, 6–3, 4–6 | ||||
| 10 February 2017 | Philippines | Katharina Lehnert | L | 3–6, 4–6 | ||||
| 2018 Fed Cup Asia/Oceania Zone Group I |
R/R | 7 February 2018 | New Delhi, India | China | Hard | Zhu Lin | W | 6–3, 6–2 |
| 8 February 2018 | Kazakhstan | Yulia Putintseva | W | 6–3, 1–6, 6–4 | ||||
| 9 February 2018 | Hong Kong | Zhang Ling | W | 6–3, 6–2 | ||||
| P/O | 10 February 2018 | Chinese Taipei | Hsu Chieh-yu | W | 6–4, 5–7, 6–1 | |||
| 2019 Fed Cup Asia/Oceania Zone Group I |
R/R | 7 February 2019 | Astana, Kazakhstan | Thailand | Hard (i) | Peangtarn Plipuech | W | 6–7, 6–2, 6–4 |
| 8 February 2019 | Kazakhstan | Yulia Putintseva | L | 1–6, 6–7 | ||||
| P/O | 9 February 2019 | South Korea | Jeong Su-nam | W | 6–3, 6–3 |
Doubles
| Edition | Stage | Date | Location | Against | Surface | Partner | Opponents | W/L | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 Fed Cup Asia/Oceania Zone Group I |
R/R | 6 February 2013 | Astana, Kazakhstan | Kazakhstan | Hard (i) | Rutuja Bhosale | Sesil Karatantcheva Galina Voskoboeva |
L | 3–6, 1–6 |
| 8 February 2013 | Thailand | Rishika Sunkara | Noppawan Lertcheewakarn Varatchaya Wongteanchai |
L | 1–6, 3–6 | ||||
| 2014 Fed Cup Asia/Oceania Zone Group II |
P/O | 7 February 2014 | Hong Kong | Rishika Sunkara | Ng Kwan-yau Wu Ho-ching |
W | 6–2, 6–1 | ||
| 2019 Fed Cup Asia/Oceania Zone Group I |
R/R | 7 February 2019 | Astana, Kazakhstan | Thailand | Hard (i) | Karman Thandi | Nudnida Luangnam Peangtarn Plipuech |
W | 6–4, 6–7, 7–5 |
| P/O | 9 February 2019 | Astana, Kazakhstan | South Korea | Hard (i) | Prarthana Thombare | Jang Su-jeong Kim Na-ri |
L | 4–6, 4–6 |
Asian Games
Singles (bronze medal)
| Medal | Date | Tournament | Location | Opponent | Score |
|---|