TENNIS | Captain Uppal wants India to be ambitious and fearless Today Sports News

India captain Vishal Uppal wants his players to take a fearless approach in the Billie Jean King Cup playoffs which commences here on Friday. 

The likes of Sahaja Yamalapalli, Shrivalli Bhamidipaty, Ankita Raina and others will face tough competition from Slovenia and Netherlands, but Uppal places immense faith in his crew. 

“We want to take the court with the right energy and take the fight to our opponents. Our opponents are much higher ranked, but we like the underdog story. I want my team to be ambitious, be fearless,” Uppal told The Hindu on the sidelines of a training session at the S.M. Krishna Tennis Stadium here. 

India captain Uppal with team members during a training session ahead of the Billie Jean King Cup Play-offs 2025, scheduled from November 14–16, at the S.M. Krishna Tennis Stadium in Bengaluru. 
| Photo Credit:
K. MURALI KUMAR

Uppal was the captain when India reached the playoffs for the very first time, in 2020. To make it this far again in a short period shows that Indian women’s tennis is on the up and up, Uppal said. 

“It shows you that women’s tennis in India is heading the right way. Now we need to get more ambitious to go beyond the playoffs. It is very important to continue on the journey to growing the sport in India,” the former men’s national champion and Davis Cup player said. 

Uppal is not averse to making bold line-up changes, as seen in the previous round (Asia/Oceania Zone Group I). “I’m pretty sure no one in Indian tennis would have imagined that Ankita will not play a singles match in Pune.

“But I had come up with this strategy after I studied the opponents and match-ups. The good thing was that the whole team was on board with the plan,” Uppal said.