Jensi Dipakbhai Kanabar came to New Delhi as a wildcard. At 14, in only her second professional event, she is quietly dismantling 25-year-old records with a fortitude that belies her age.
In the Round of 16, she beat Sandeepti Singh Rao 6-3, 7-5 to become the youngest Indian woman to reach a professional quarterfinal — breaking Sania Mirza’s record by 11 days.
Then she walked straight into the quarterfinal and did it again, beating Arina Arifullina 6-3, 6-3 to become the youngest Indian woman to reach a professional semifinal. Same tournament. Same week. Sania’s record, broken twice.
What makes Kanabar’s run particularly striking is not just the age, but the manner. Against 22-year-old Rao, ranked WTA 1425, she found herself staring down at four set points in the second set with the match in the balance. She saved all four — not with scrambling or fortune, but with composed shot-making under pressure. She closed it 7-5 and moved on without visible ceremony.
Against Arifullina — six years older, ranked WTA 1002 — Kanabar was cleaner, sharper, 6-3, 6-3. The improvement from one match to the next, across the same week, at 14, is the detail that deserves attention.
The names on the historical list — Sania Mirza, Ankita Bhambri, Tara Iyer, Isha Lakhani, Rutuja Bhosale — represent the backbone of Indian women’s tennis across decades. Each of them went on to shape the sport in their own way. Kanabar is now younger than every name on that list was when they reached the same stage.
Jensi leaves a trail of new records behind her and yet stays grounded, focussed on the next match. At 14, that’s an impressive combination.