Vaidehee Chaudhari clinches third Fenesta Open crown

Hyderabad: Sixth seed Maan Kesharwani and top seed Vaidehee Chaudhari clinched the men’s and women’s singles titles, respectively, at the 31st Fenesta Open National Tennis Championship at the DLTA Complex in New Delhi on Saturday.

Chaudhari, who also won the title in 2022 and 2024, defeated 20-year-old Shruti Ahlawat 6-4, 7-5 in a closely contested final lasting two hours and 15 minutes to secure her third Fenesta Open crown.

“I feel so proud. This is my third title, so I am very happy right now,” Chaudhari said after the win.

“In the first set, I was 5-3 up, and she kept fighting. Even in the second set, I was 5-3 up, and she kept fighting till the end. It was a great and close match.”

In the men’s singles final, Kesharwani defeated third seed Nitin Sinha 6-0, 6-4 in one hour and 37 minutes to claim his maiden Fenesta Open title.

Kesharwani made a dominant start, winning the first six games to take the opening set without dropping a game. The second set was more competitive, but the sixth seed secured a crucial break at 3-2 before holding serve to close out the match.

“This is my first Fenesta title. For the last four years, I had been losing in the first round of every Fenesta Open. This time, I made it straight to the final and won. I’m very emotional. I don’t know how to express it in words, but I’m so happy. I would especially like to thank my parents, who have always supported me,” Kesharwani said.

Rohit Rajpal, president of the Delhi Lawn Tennis Association; Saket Jain, executive director and business head of Fenesta Building Systems; Indian hockey player and 2026 Asian Games gold medallist Jugraj Singh; and Prerna Bhambri, a four-time Fenesta Open champion and treasurer of the DLTA, presented the trophies.

“In addition to the championship prize money, we have introduced an additional ₹11 lakh Player Development Scholarship from our CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) budget to support the winners and runners-up in their journey ahead. The scholarship will help players invest in essential aspects of their development, including coaching, physiotherapy, fitness and tennis equipment. We hope this initiative helps players invest in their development and pursue their aspirations with greater confidence,” Saket Jain said.

Sixteen-year-old Ribhav Saroha, the 10th seed, upset fourth seed Om Ramesh Patel 6-4, 6-3 to win the boys’ U-18 singles title.