Jensi Kanabar’s leap of faith shows Chennai tennis crowd a glimpse of the future

After Maaya Rajeshwaran Revathi, currently ranked 16th, Jensi (in picture) is India’s second-best female junior at No. 44. | Photo Credit: PTI

For the qualifying round of the WTA 250 Chennai Open, the two Indian wild cards had already been announced — Diya Ramesh and Shrivalli Bhamidipaty.

But the Tamil Nadu Tennis Association had promised Dipakbhai Kanabar that Shrivalli’s wild card will be reallocated to Jensi, his 14-year-old daughter, provided they were on-site in case Shrivalli made the cut based on her ranking after a few withdrawals.

Dipakbhai and Jensi took a leap of faith.

They travelled from Junagadh, a city in western Gujarat with a population of roughly five lakh, to Ahmedabad via a train before boarding a flight to Chennai, the capital of India’s southernmost State.

They had nothing to lose. “We thought that if we got in, fine. Otherwise, we will visit some temples in Rameshwaram and Madurai before heading back,” said Dipakbhai.

ALSO READ | Jensi Kanabar: The 14-year-old Indian tennis prodigy following Sania Mirza’s path

After a 10-hour journey, the duo reached the SDAT Stadium in Nungambakkam on Friday afternoon and as it turned out, Jensi was indeed awarded the wild card vacated by Shrivalli.

Now, one may wonder why a 14-year-old who had previously played just two senior international events — USD 15,000 ITF events, the lowest category of women’s pro tournaments — was given a huge opportunity like this in the first place.

Scrolling through this week’s ITF Rankings for the top Under-18 girls across the world provides a hint. After Maaya Rajeshwaran Revathi, currently ranked 16th, Jensi is India’s second-best female junior at No. 44. The former had already been awarded a main draw wild card and now, the latter had a chance to join her.

For Dipakbhai and Jensi, the visits to the temples in Rameshwaram and Madurai before heading back home are still on the agenda. The pilgrimage will now have an added sense of gratitude. | Photo Credit: Nihit Sachdeva

What also stands out is the remarkable rise of Jensi who started her tennis training at the local gymkhana in Junagadh due to her father, a huge Steffi Graf fan. A schoolteacher by profession but with no prior experience in tennis, Dipakbhai began teaching Jensi the basics of the sport. After the COVID-19 pandemic, he and his three friends, who also had young children playing tennis, rented a piece of land and turned it into two clay courts in 2022 so that he could train his daughter with a more focussed approach.

In a little over a year since her ITF debut, the girl broke into the world’s Top 50 juniors in September.

But playing in the qualifying round of a WTA 250 event, at 14, was an intimidating jump from the level she had been used to.

Battling toe-to-toe

Jensi was drawn to face Polish World No. 287 Weronika Falkowska, a player 12 years elder to her.

Under the floodlights on a pleasant Saturday evening, as the two players stood on the opposite sides of the net on Court 1, one of the outside courts, there was, understandably, a stark difference between their physical appearances.

The 26-year-old Falkowska, 176cm tall with a typical athlete’s physique, looked every bit a seasoned tennis player in her visor, a cyan-coloured extended sports bra and black skirt combination. In front of her was a petite girl, 13cm shorter, wearing a slightly loose maroon t-shirt, a grey skirt, and sporting a hairband.

The record books may show that Falkowska won the contest but they won’t tell how a teenager, with no experience of Tour-level tennis, made her toil for two hours and 21 minutes for a 6-2, 5-7, 6-3 victory.

The scoreline does little justice to the battle witnessed live by the 100-odd spectators.

In the opening set, Falkowska simply overpowered the kid, hitting three aces, 12 winners and breaking Jensi’s serve thrice.

She immediately broke Jensi again at the start of the second essay but from there, it was anything but smooth sailing. The Indian began reading the Pole’s serve, getting into extended rallies and forcing errors out of her much-experienced opponent.

The fact that she was facing a left-handed player, quite uncommon in the sport, added to the tension Falkowska (left) was already feeling. Jensi could find the angles the Pole was just not used to.  | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

Falkowska tried surprising Jensi with drop shots and the Indian responded with impressive court coverage. The Pole attempted closing the net but on multiple occasions, only ended up watching gorgeous passing forehands from Jensi.

The fact that she was facing a left-handed player, quite uncommon in the sport, added to the tension Falkowska was already feeling. Jensi could find the angles the Pole was just not used to. Serving at 5-6, Falkowska saved four set points before a netted forehand led to the entire Court 1 crowd rising up to applaud the girl who had just forced a decider against a Top 300 player.

While the energy of the crowd did play its part, having her father in her coach’s box also helped Jensi in her fightback. Dipakbhai, in an amusing manner, indicated a telepathic connection between him and his daughter. “Tennis is a tough sport but kya bataaun…. ye algorithm mere dimaag mein set ho chuka hai (How do I explain? This algorithm is now ingrained in me). I can anticipate whether Jensi’s opponent is going for a T serve or an angled one. If Jensi manages to look at me 0.3 seconds before the serve, I am able to inform her,” he said.

“In the second set, Falkowska was unable to handle the shots hit into her body,” added Jensi.

The frustration reached a boiling point for the Pole as she squandered an advantage early in the decider and muttered something furiously towards her player’s box. However, somehow, she gathered her composure and broke Jensi again to take a 3-2 lead.

Serving at 3-5, the teenager raced to a 40-0 lead before a few loose points allowed Falkowska to break her again and clinch the victory.

Having fought so hard in a match not many would have expected her to win anyway, Jensi was visibly emotional after the loss.

Jensi Kanabar gives an autograph after a valiant effort in the 1st round of Chennai Open qualifiers. The 14-year-old surely inspired a lot of kids in the stands today. @sportstarweb https://t.co/ciKgCeGHQO

— Nihit (@nihitsachdeva28) October 31, 2026

But before leaving the court, she had to complete one more task — giving an autograph to a woman who had brought her young son to watch the sport. The moment signified what Jensi’s performance had meant to the local crowd on a disappointing day where the other three Indians, all elder to the girl from Junagadh, had lost in straight sets.

For Dipakbhai and Jensi, the visits to the temples in Rameshwaram and Madurai before heading back home are still on the agenda. The pilgrimage will now have an added sense of gratitude.