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- Bengaluru Lad Aradhya Kshitij Enters Main Draw As Rain Curtails Matches At Sm Krishna Memorial Open
Published on 18 May, 2026 12.00am IST
Persistent rain played spoilsport on the opening day of the main draw at the SM Krishna Memorial Open ATP Challenger, forcing all the five singles and one doubles match to be suspended at the SM Krishna Tennis Stadium here on Monday.
Play was halted midway through first-round singles encounters with several Indian interests left hanging in the balance. Seventh seed Karan Singh was locked at 5-5 (30-0) against Malaysia’s Mitsuki Wei Kang Leong when showers interrupted proceedings, while India’s Digvijaypratap Singh was yet to begin his campaign against Japan’s Leo Vithoontien. Eighth seed Maximus Jones of Thailand and India’s Mukund Sasikumar also remained waiting to take court.
Japanese duo Ryuki Matsuda and Yusuke Takahashi were tied at 3-4 in the opening set when play stopped, while Czech Republic’s Dominik Palan was leading Kokoro Isomura of Japan 6-4, 2-1 (30-30) before the interruption.
The courts were dried and readied for play to resume at around 6:30 p.m., raising hopes of a full evening session. However, a second spell of rain ruled out further action for the day, pushing unfinished matches to Tuesday.
Earlier, the day belonged to 17-year-old wildcard Aradhya Kshitij, who continued his impressive run to storm into the main draw. The Bengaluru youngster defeated eighth seed Nitin Kumar Sinha 7-6 (2), 6-4 in the final qualifying round, backing up his stunning upset over the top seed in qualifying a day earlier.
Aradhya, one of Karnataka’s brightest junior prospects and a former India No.1 in the Under-16 category, has steadily risen through the ranks with notable performances on the ITF junior circuit, including a J200 title earlier this year. The teenager showed maturity beyond his years against the experienced Sinha, staying composed in crucial moments to pocket the opening-set tiebreak before closing out the match in straight sets.
His qualification marks one of the biggest breakthroughs of his young career, earning him a place in the main draw of an ATP Challenger event on home soil.
With multiple Indian players still in contention and unfinished first-round matches to resume, Tuesday promises a packed schedule at the ATP Challenger debut edition of the SM Krishna Memorial Open.
Results (Seeding in prefix)
Men’s Singles (Round of 32)
Ryuki Matsuda (JPN) Vs Yusuke Takahashi (JPN) 3-4 (rain halts play)
Dominik Palan (CZE) Vs Kokoro Isomura (JPN) 6-4, 2-1 (30-30) (rain halts play)
7-Karan Singh (IND) Vs Mitsuki Wei Kang Leong (MAS) 5-5 (30-0) (rain halts play)
Digvijaypratap Singh (IND) Vs Leo Vithoontien (JPN) Yet to start
8-Maximus Jones (THA) Vs Mukund Sasikumar (IND) Yet to start
Men’s Doubles (Round of 16)
Alastair Gray (GBR) / Hamish Stewart (GBR) Vs. Alex Hernandez (MEX) / Takuya Kumasaka (JPN) (Yet to start)
Men’s Singles Final Qualifying Round
WC-Aradhya Kshitij (IND) bt 8-Nitin Kumar Sinha (IND) 7-6 (2), 6-4;
Christopher Papa (USA) bt 3-Joshua Charlton (AUS) 7-6 (3), 6-3;
10-Naoya Honda (JPN) bt 4-Amit Vales (ISR) 6-3, 6-2;
6-Thanapet Chanta (THA) bt 9-Dev Javia (IND) 6-4, 7-6 (6);
5-Taiyo Yamanaka (JPN) bt 12-Ronit Karki (USA) 6-4, 6-2;
11-Grigoriy Lomakin (KAZ) bt Ryotaro Taguchi (JPN) 5-7, 6-1, 7-6 (2).
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