New Delhi, Jan 17 (PTI) India's top singles player Ankita Raina put herself in title contention in the doubles event of the ITF W50 event on Friday along with British partner Naiktha Bains after pipping an all-Indian team of Riya Bhatia and Vaidehi Chaudhary at DLTA Complex here.
Ankita, who made a first-round exit in the singles, and Naiktha prevailed 6-2 6-4 over their rivals in the semifinals.
Ankita and Naikhta had last played a final together in November 2024 in Caloundra, Australia, where they ended runners-up at an ITF W50 event.
If Ankita wins on Saturday, it will be her first doubles title of the 2025 season and first since her triumph at the Kashiwa event in Japan last April when she had partnered Taipei's Chia Yi Tsao.
In the singles event, Latvian top seed Darja Semenistaja and seventh seed Tatiana Prozorova set up the top-half semifinal with easy victories.
Darja outplayed Anasytasia Tikhonova 6-1 6-3 in the quarterfinal, while Tatiana ended the impressive run of qualifier Maria Kozyreva 6-1 6-1 in her match.
From the bottom half, Hungary's second seed Panna Udvardy used all her experience to overcome the very talented Laura Samson 4-6 6-1 6-4 in a close quarterfinal.
She will now fight for a place in the final with British fourth seed Yuriko Lilly Miyazaki, who ousted sixth seed Slovanian Dalila Jakupovic 6-1 6-3 in her quarterfinal.
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