Ribhav Saroha, 16, wins Fenesta Open U-18 title; Vaidehee, Maan take national crowns

A 16-year-old seeded tenth, Ribhav Saroha, won the boys' under-18 singles title at the 31st Fenesta Open National Tennis Championship at the DLTA Complex in New Delhi on Saturday, 10 October 2026, beating fourth seed Om Ramesh Patel 6-4, 6-3. On the same day the senior national crowns were decided: top seed Vaidehee Chaudhari won the women's singles for the third time, defeating second seed Shruti Ahlawat, 20, by 6-4, 7-5, and sixth seed Maan Kesharwani claimed his first men's title with a 6-0, 6-4 win over third seed Nitin Sinha.

The Fenesta Open is India's national tennis championship, and for many young players it is the first place where they test themselves against the best in the country under bright lights. Saroha's win stands out because he did it from tenth in the seeding list, beating a higher-ranked rival in straight sets. He told reporters after the final that his game plan was to be "consistent and aggressive at the same time". He also recalled that his first appearance at the event, three years ago, was in the qualifying rounds of the under-14 draw, and he described the championship as being like the Indian Grand Slam.

That path, from under-14 qualifier to under-18 national champion in three seasons, is the kind of steady climb that coaches look for when picking players for junior international tours. A national title adds weight to a player's record when federations and sponsors decide whom to back.

The senior results carry their own lesson for young players. Kesharwani said that in each of the previous four years he had lost in the first round of the Fenesta Open, and that this time he went all the way to the final and won it. Chaudhari, by contrast, is now a three-time champion, showing how consistency at the national level can build over several seasons. Ahlawat, the 20-year-old runner-up, pushed her through a long second set, a sign of the depth now coming through in Indian women's tennis.

The money also matters. Tennis is an expensive sport for Indian families, with costs for coaching, travel, fitness work and equipment. Organisers have said the scholarship is meant to help with exactly these costs, and because it is paid to runners-up as well as winners, it reaches more young players than a single trophy would.

Short-term: Saroha, Chaudhari and Kesharwani each qualify for a Rs 1.05 lakh scholarship payment on top of prize money, and Saroha's title should lift his standing in domestic junior rankings. Attention now turns to the under-16 and under-14 draws, which run until the finals on 17 October.

Long-term: A national junior title can open the door to wider selection for junior international events and to sponsor interest. If Saroha keeps improving, the result could mark the start of a move from the junior circuit towards professional events.

Who is affected: Young tennis players aged 14 to 18 and their families, coaches and academies, state tennis bodies, and selectors looking for India's next crop of players.

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