Karman Kaur Thandi’s return to Grand Slam tennis ended in disappointment on May 19 after the former India No. 1 crashed out of the women’s singles qualifiers at the French Open 2026.
The 27-year-old, competing in her first Grand Slam event in three years, was comprehensively beaten 6-1, 6-0 by France’s Harmony Tan in the opening round of qualifying.
Thandi had entered the qualifying draw using a protected ranking of 238 after returning from a lengthy injury break. However, she struggled to find any rhythm against Tan, who controlled the contest from the baseline and constantly applied pressure with deep returns and steady serving.
The Indian found it difficult on both serve and return throughout the 48-minute encounter. Tan converted five of her eight break-point opportunities, while Thandi failed to capitalise on her only chance. Inconsistent serving and a rising unforced error count prevented her from building any momentum as the Frenchwoman dictated play almost throughout the match.
Despite a few flashes of resistance during longer rallies, Thandi was largely pushed onto the defensive and never managed to settle into the contest. Tan, best known for her shock win over Serena Williams at Wimbledon in 2022, remained composed from start to finish to seal a dominant victory.
The defeat also brought an end to India’s singles campaign at this year’s French Open, with Thandi being the country’s only representative in the singles draw. She was also the first Indian woman to feature in a Grand Slam singles event since Ankita Raina at the 2024 Australian Open.
