Chennai Open 2026: Maaya loses to Robin in quarterfinals; defending champion Janice advances

Robin Montgomery beat Indian wild card Maaya Rajeshwaran Revathi to reach the Chennai Open semifinals, while Janice Tjen rallied past Polina Kudermetova to defend her title.

Updated : Nov 06, 2026 21:32 IST , CHENNAI - 4 MINS READ

Robin Montgomery defeated India’s Maaya Rajeshwaran Revathi to enter the semifinal on Friday. | Photo Credit: RAGU R

Robin Montgomery overcame an early setback to defeat wild card Maaya Rajeshwaran Revathi 6-3, 6-3 in the quarterfinals, ending the Indian challenge in singles at the WTA 250 Chennai Open on Friday.

Maaya - the first Indian woman to feature in the last-eight stage of a Tour-level event since Sania Mirza in Pattaya City in 2012 - was particularly impressive in the early stages. She was trying to handle the 5’10” tall American’s lefty serve, which averaged above the 180km/h mark, by constantly adjusting her position near the baseline. For Montgomery’s wide serve in the ad court, the 17-year-old Maaya took the chance of leaving the T open by planting one foot almost inside the doubles alley.

Maaya got the early break in the fifth game of the opener courtesy a netted backhand from World No. 151 Montgomery, much to the delight of the 500-odd spectators under the floodlights on Centre Court at the SDAT Stadium in Nungambakkam here.

But when it came to consolidating the break, the girl from Coimbatore, who had been landing plenty of first serves in the high 170km/h range, couldn’t find one till she was 15-30 down. Montgomery converted her first opportunity to restore parity as she pinned the local favourite in the ad corner before finishing the point with a forehand down the line in the deuce court.

Maaya also let the eighth game - in which she committed two double faults - slip from 40-30 up and dropped her serve again. The 22-year-old Montgomery, former World No. 95, served the set out.

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Maaya finally ended Montgomery’s run of six straight games by holding serve to trail 1-2 at the first change of ends in the second essay. At this point, a section of the crowd attempted to boost her confidence with chants of “Let’s go, Maaya!”

The American wasn’t really fazed by the atmosphere and got another break soon to go 4-1 up as Maaya’s shots couldn’t find the necessary depth. That insurance break proved vital for Montgomery as the Indian cut the deficit to 3-4.

With the second batch of new balls coming into play, the American held quickly. Serving to stay in the contest, Maaya went down 0-30 with her fifth double fault of the match. She made it 30-all before sending a backhand down the line into the doubles alley. Montgomery finished the job with a crosscourt backhand winner to reach her second Tour-level semifinal where she’ll face top-seeded Indonesian and reigning champion Janice Tjen.

Maaya was the last Indian left in the singles draw after Vaishnavi Adkar and Sahaja Yamalapalli, the other two wild cards, were knocked out in the second and first round, respectively.

Montgomery, a former Junior US Open champion, had only good things to say about Maaya after the 72-minute match. “I’m very glad to see someone like her come up in our sport alongside Alexandra Eala, myself and a bunch of other young players. I’m very happy to have competed against her here and she has a very bright future,” said the American.

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Earlier in the day, World No. 75 Tjen kept her title defence alive with a come-from-behind 5-7, 6-4, 6-2 win over Russian-born Uzbek Polina Kudermetova under overcast conditions.

Tjen fell 1-4 behind in the opener when a brief spell of rain led to the match being suspended. That period allowed her to speak to her coach, Christopher Bint, who reassured her that the backhand slice, her primary weapon, will eventually work despite the court being slightly on the slower side.

World No. 93 Kudermetova clinched the opener after the restart, but by then, Tjen had found her confidence and looked the more solid player in the rest of the match as she eventually secured the victory in two hours and 17 minutes.