Indian tennis will be firmly in focus at the 2026 Mumbai Open WTA 125K Series, with the country’s leading women’s doubles player Rutuja Bhosale set to spearhead the main draw when the tournament gets underway in Mumbai next week.
The event, scheduled from February 4 to 8 at the Maharashtra State Lawn Tennis Association (MSLTA) courts, was officially announced on Tuesday. Bhosale will compete alongside Thailand’s Peangtarn Plipuech, with the Indo-Thai pairing entering the tournament as the top seeds in the doubles draw.
Bhosale and Plipuech will open their Mumbai Open campaign against Thailand’s Mananchaya Sawangkaew and Argentina’s Nicole Fossa Huergo. The pairing brings together experience and consistency, making them early favourites for the title.
Bhosale, who has come close to lifting trophies in recent months, including a runners-up finish at the WTA 125 event in Jinan, highlighted the personal importance of competing at the MSLTA courts. Having trained at the venue since her junior years, she described the Mumbai Open as a vital platform for the growth and visibility of women’s tennis in India.
India’s presence in the doubles draw remains strong, with multiple home players featuring across the field.
Former finalists Prarthana Thombare, who finished runner-up at last year’s Mumbai Open, will partner Alevtina Ibragimova in this edition. The duo faces a challenging opening-round clash against the second-seeded team of Elena Pridanika and Polina Iatcenko. Thombare arrives in Mumbai after a productive 2025 season, highlighted by a semifinal appearance at a WTA 125 event in Turkey and a runner-up finish in Newport.
Meanwhile, Ankita Raina and Shrivalli Bhamidipaty, ranked India’s fourth and fifth-best doubles players respectively, will team up as a wildcard entry. They are set to face France’s Leolia Jeanjean and Japan’s Naima Karamoko in the opening round.
The singles draw, however, proved challenging for Indian players on the opening day. Sahaja Yamalapalli bowed out after a closely contested match against Japan’s Eri Shimizu, while Shrivalli Bhamidipaty and Vaishnavi Adkar also exited in the first round.
