Indian No. 1 Ankita Raina and Kamilla Rakhimova are the winners of the WTA 250 Phillip Island Trophy. In the finals, the Indo-Russian pair defeated Anna Blinkova and Anastasia Potapova of Russia with a scoreline of 26 64 10-7 to seal the title. 

This is the first WTA 250 title for both Ankita and Kamilla. Kamilla spoke to ITD after the match to share her thoughts on this run and her partnership with Ankita Raina. 

Thoughts on the final

It was a difficult start. After the first set, we started to play more aggressive which helped us. We were really pumped up and were supporting each other throughout the match. I am glad we were able to win. 

This is your first ever WTA 250 title – how much does it mean for you? You both have been there for a month in Australia now.

I hope winning this title is only the beginning. Happy to end my Australian trip on this note!

What do you think worked well in terms of your pairing with Ankita?

We both love playing doubles. We’re been playing really aggressive tennis, trying to fight for every point and enjoying time together on court. So overall these aspects made our pairing strong. 

Kamilla RAKHIMOVA (RUS) and Ankita RAINA (IND) celebrate winning match point against Anastasia POTAPOVA (RUS) and Anna BLINKOVA (RUS) on 1573 Arena in the Phillip Island Trophy Womens Doubles Final during Day 12 of the Australian Open at Melbourne Park on Friday, February 19, 2021. PHOTO CREDIT Tennis Australia/ NATASHA MORELLO

You both haven’t faced each other in singles or doubles before. How did this pairing come about?

It’s actually funny how we decided to play together. We signed on-site at the very last minute in the last 15 minutes before it was closed and then I asked her and it worked. 

When can we expect to see you both play together again next?

Maybe in the future we will play more. It depends on which tournaments we both will go! But for sure we will 🙂

Kamilla RAKHIMOVA (RUS) and Ankita RAINA (IND) plays Francesca Jones (GBR) and Nadia PODOROSKA (ARG) pose with their trophies after winning the women’s doubles final match on Court 1573 during the Phillip Island Trophy, WTA250 tournament at Melbourne Park on Friday, February 19, 2021. MANDATORY PHOTO CREDIT Tennis Australia/ MARK PETERSON

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