Vishal Uppal feels the Indian girls have to work on their mentality more.
| Photo Credit: SHIV KUMAR PUSHPAKAR
India failed to make the cut for the Billie jean King Cup Playoffs but captain Vishal Uppal insisted there there was more hope than disappointment in the way the Indian girls performed through the week.
India finished third after defeating Korea in its final tie in the six-team competition and Uppal, while ruing the opportunities, was optimistic about the future of Indian women’s tennis.
“It was a week of missed chances for us. Against Thailand, if we had pulled off that second singles, we would have beaten them in doubles. Even against Indonesia, we were in the mix. Going into the competition, I knew we had to beat Thailand and Korea to qualify. We played three hours of bad tennis on Day One which cost us else it would have been a different story,” Uppal said after the tournament.
“(But) I think they have a lot of potential. They can play ball. I would love for them to just pick up the mentality a lot more. You can’t beat up on yourself, come what may. It will depend on how they grow their mentality and how they improve their physicality, because that is what it takes to get to the top level,” he added.
Rutuja looking at Asiad
With team events uncommon in professional tennis, the Indians will have another chance at the Asian Games later this year and Rutuja Bhosale — who won mixed doubles gold in 2023 —– admitted she was looking forward to it.
“As an athlete, for me, getting a medal in the last edition was unreal. The experience is something that will live with me forever. Not just the medal but the reaction of everyone back home. Where I come from, a really small village in Solapur, nobody knows what’s actually happening in world tennis. The only competitions they know are Asian Games, Olympics. The emotional support I received when I came home, I would love to experience that again.
“These are the moments we try and work together for and hopefully try and come out with a medal. We (her and Ankita Raina) are playing the next three weeks together, planning a few tournaments before we get into Asian Games. It’s always fun to play with someone you shared court with for so many years and I think it will really help us if we do end up playing together,” Rutuja hoped.
Published – April 12, 2026 06:09 pm IST
