In Maaya Rajeshwaran Revathi, does India have its own tennis prodigy?

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Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. For a week in Mumbai, India’s city of dreams, Maaya Rajeshwaran Revathi took Indian tennis on a fantastical ride. While her legs were tired by the end of it, her courage rarely wavered as she went from a wildcard in the qualifiers to a semi-finalist at the L&T Mumbai Open.

The 15-year-old from Coimbatore shattered the shroud of despondency that seems to have settled on Indian tennis of late. As Maaya progressed through the WTA 125k, currently the biggest women’s tennis event in India, the nation got a look at its own teen prodigy. Though slight, she packs a punch.

Playing in only her fifth professional event, Maaya won the two qualifying rounds to make it to the main draw. She then proceeded to defeat Iryna Shymanovich of Belarus, former top-50 player Zarina Diyas of Kazakhstan and Japan’s Mei Yamaguchi to become the first Indian player to reach a home WTA semifinal since Sania Mirza’s sensational title run at the 2005 WTA Hyderabad Open. Maaya also became the first player born in 2009 to make to the last four at this level.

Her dream run was finally ended on Saturday by fifth seed and eventual champion, the Swiss Jil Teichmann. A former top-25 player, southpaw Teichmann hit the ball harder and heavier than most at the Mumbai Open, and won her last three matches in straight sets to claim the crown. “I was tired, my legs were not working like I wanted them to.

As I said earlier, I always rely on my legs," said Maaya after the semifinal, which was her sixth match in eight days. “But I’m happy I was able to compete well. I got to see what it’s like to play at the highest level.

As I improve, I’ll be playing more players like this. Even the top 100, 150 will play like this. Physically, I