Mumbai Open | Sahaja revives promise with riveting fare Premium

Sahaja Yamalapalli stuns top seed Kayla Day in Mumbai, showcasing her mental strength and determination in tennis.

Stay calm and face the storm. If possible, be the storm for your rival!

That has been the guiding principle for Sahaja Yamalapalli who stunned the top seed Kayla Day in the first round of the WTA tennis tournament in Mumbai.

Two weeks of training and interaction with Ashley Hobson during her last stint of tournaments in the USA had made the 22-year-old Sahaja see her tennis in a different perspective. More importantly, she understood the meaning of staying in the moment, being aware of what was happening on court, thinking and playing smart, depending on the demands of the situation. She has learnt to enjoy the challenge thrown at her by every opponent and find her way.

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Sahaja had beaten the 158th-ranked Ekaterina Makarova in winning her last title, the $25,000 event in Solapur. However, after that she won one match in four tournaments in Navi Mumbai, Bengaluru, Pune and Indore.

Luckily, she not only got the wild card for the WTA event, but also had a long-time coach at the PBI in Bengaluru, Rituplawan Gogoi to travel for the event in Mumbai.

“He came to help me to get back my confidence and do some tweaks in my game because I was travelling without a coach for several weeks leading to Mumbai”, said Sahaja, Understandably delighted to be able to play her best when facing her first top-100 opponent, Sahaja put things in perspective, expressing her gratitude.