DÜREN, GERMANY — India’s emerging junior tennis talents delivered a statement performance at the prestigious Internationale Deutsche Tennismeisterschaften U14, a premier Tennis Europe Junior Tour Super Series event.
Led by spectacular singles campaigns from Padmapriya Ramesh Kumar and Srishti Kiran, India proudly put two players into the final four of the Girls’ U14 Singles main draw, highlighting their impressive depth on the European clay.
Padmapriya Ramesh Kumar — Girls U14 Singles Semifinalist
Entering the main draw unseeded, Padmapriya Ramesh Kumar executed a phenomenal run through the bottom half of the draw to reach the semifinals.
- Round 1: def. Alma Busch (GER) 6-1, 6-2
- Round 2: def. [9] Ademi Alseipulova (KAZ) 6-2, 6-3
- Round 3: def. A. Vega Alvarez (DOM) 6-2, 6-2
- Quarterfinals: def. Daria Strogalshchikova 7-6(3), 6-3
- Semifinals: lost to [16] Ketong Guo (CHN) 6-0, 6-4
Ramesh Kumar cruised through her opening three rounds with dominant baseline consistency, highlighted by a composed straight-sets upset over the 9th seed. In the quarterfinals, she displayed great poise under pressure to secure a tight first-set tiebreak against Daria Strogalshchikova before pulling away in the second. Her brilliant run was ultimately halted in the semifinals by China’s 16th seed, Ketong Guo.
Srishti Kiran — Girls U14 Singles Semifinalist
Srishti Kiran produced one of the most remarkable upset runs of the tournament, captivating spectators in Düren with her aggressive shot-making.
- Round 1: def. Dimitra Kallistrou (GRE) 6-1, 6-0
- Round 2: def. [1] Lilly Falkenberg (SUI) 6-2, 6-1
- Round 3: def. M. Medina Castro (MEX) 6-2, 6-1
- Quarterfinals: def. N. Miranda Rios (PER) 6-1, 6-3
- Semifinals: lost to [4] Seohyeon Kim (KOR) 6-0, 6-2
After dropping just one game in her opener, Kiran pulled off the biggest shock of the draw by dismantling top seed and World No. 6 Lilly Falkenberg 6-2, 6-1. She capitalized on the momentum, storming through the third round and quarterfinals while dictating play beautifully. Her blistering run eventually came to an end in the semifinals against the 4th seed and eventual champion, Seohyeon Kim.
Puneeth Manohar — Boys U14 Singles
Representing India in the Boys’ U14 Singles main draw, unseeded Puneeth Manohar faced a formidable draw right out of the gate.
- Round 1: lost to [16] Christopher Manton (AUS) 7-5, 6-1
Manohar was drawn against Australia’s 16th seed, Christopher Manton. Manohar went toe-to-toe with his seeded opponent in a hard-fought first set, forcing Manton to work for every game before falling 7-5. Manton pulled away in the second set to close out the match, ending Manohar’s singles run in the opening round.
