Unnati Hooda exits French Open 2026 after three-game defeat to Riko Gunji
Unnati Hooda failed to progress to the second round at the French Open. | Photo Credit: Getty Images
Unnati Hooda failed to progress to the second round at the French Open. | Photo Credit: Getty Images
India’s Unnati Hooda suffered a first-round exit at the French Open 2026, losing to Japan’s Riko Gunji in a three-game encounter on Wednesday.
Unnati went down 18-21 in the opening game after a closely fought 21-minute battle, but responded strongly in the second. The Indian surged to an 11-6 lead at the interval and extended her advantage to 16-8 before wrapping up the game 21-12 to force a decider.
The third game remained competitive in the early exchanges before Gunji gained the upper hand, opening up an 18-12 lead. The Japanese shuttler maintained her advantage to close out the game 21-17 and seal the match.
The result extended Gunji’s winning record against Unnati, having also prevailed in their only previous meeting at the 2025 German Open. On that occasion, Gunji recovered from a game down to edge the Indian 15-21, 25-23, 24-22 in a closely contested encounter.
Unnati’s exit extends India’s disappointing run at the French Open so far. Satwik-Chirag and Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand have also been knocked out.
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