World Junior Championship silver medallist Tanvi Sharma and Thailand Masters champion Devika Sihag began their US Open journey with impressive victories. Tanvi defeated Yvonne Li of Germany 23-21, 21-16 in the women’s singles first round, while Devika beat Ines Lucia Castillo of Peru 21-14, 21-14.
In another match, Rounak Chouhan triumphed over former world junior silver medallist S Sankar Muthusamy 23-21, 21-16. Kidambi Srikanth, the fifth seed, showcased dominance by defeating D. Saneeth 21-14, 21-12 in just 30 minutes. Rakshitha Sree in women’s singles and the mixed doubles pair of Dhruv Rawat and K Maneesha also advanced to the next round.
Rakshitha secured a victory against Tereza Svabikova of the Czech Republic with a score of 21-15, 21-8. The mixed doubles duo of Rawat and Maneesha, seeded seventh, swiftly defeated Indonesia’s Wirawan Ihsan Adam and Serena Kani 21-15, 21-16 in 26 minutes.
On the opening day, Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand, the women’s doubles pair, overcame Spain’s Paula Lopez and Lucia Rodriguez to progress to the second round. Treesa and Gayatri are the sole Indian representatives in the women’s doubles draw, with Treesa recently returning to action after a three-month injury rehabilitation.
Notably, Indian entries are absent in the men’s doubles draw due to Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty’s absence, with Satwik recovering from an injury sustained during the Indonesia Open. Defending men’s singles champion Ayush Shetty and former US Open Indian champion HS Prannoy opted out of this year’s tournament.
