Vaidehi Chaudhary credits seniors and coach for strong show in Billie Jean King Cup

Vaidehi won the opening singles match 7-6, 6-1 against Ho Ching Wu. Although it was tightly-contested affair in the first set, as the game went on to a tie-breaker which the Indian won, 10-8, it was smooth sailing ahead in the second set as she enjoyed a dominant win on her first day.

Reflecting on the match, Vaidehi shared, “This feeling of winning in my first match was really nice. The opponent was a little tricky. She was hitting very low balls which were difficult to return especially at the start when I was struggling with the rhythm. But gradually, I just kept going and I took it one point at a time. The first set was difficult for me but the team helped me get through it."

With the tournament being hosted in Pune courtesy of MSLTA in association with ITF, AITA and PMDTA, India look to capitalise on the home advantage.

Despite losing on the first day against New Zealand, India have made a strong comeback winning against Thailand and and Hong Kong on the bounce. Vaidehi highlighted the mood in the Indian camp when she said, "Everybody is very excited in the camp. We have to go for the play-offs, so we are determined to win all of our matches."

She also highlighted the influence of veterans Ankita Raina and Prarthana Thombare have on the team off the court. "They are very experienced and they help us youngsters a lot. They share their thoughts and learnings with us which has helped us in performing well,” she explained.

She also gave credit to captain Vishal Uppal and coach Radhika Kanitkar Tulpule for India’s strong run so far and also touched upon their coaching approach.

"Both of them are very encouraging. Vishal sir is putting in a lot of effort and is supporting us in many ways. Apart from coaching and helping us improve our game, he is also training us to be strong mentally which is crucial in big tournaments like this. Because even if you are tired physically, you need to be strong mentally to get back in the game," she concluded.