PROSTEJOV, CZECHIA — The Indian girls’ team, drawn into Round Robin Group 4 alongside Italy, Japan, and Morocco, put up a spirited performance but narrowly lost their opening group-stage tie 1-2 against Japan at the 2026 World Tennis 14&U Junior Team Finals in Prostejov, Czechia.
The tie began with the opening singles match, where India’s Padmapriya Ramesh Kumar (ITF Junior Ranking No. 1289) faced a tough challenge against Japan’s Ayaka Iwasa (U14 UTR No. 16) and was defeated 1-6, 5-7.
India bounced back in thrilling fashion during the second singles rubber. Srishti Kiran (ITF Junior Ranking No. 357) staged a remarkable comeback after finding herself trailing 1-5 in the opening set against Shina Okuyama (ITF Junior Ranking No. 566). Displaying tremendous grit, Kiran clawed her way back to win the match 7-5, 6-3, successfully levelling the tie at 1-1 for India.
With the overall outcome hanging in the balance, the tie came down to the deciding doubles rubber. The Indian duo of Srishti Kiran and Padmapriya Ramesh Kumar fought hard but were bested in straight sets by the Japanese pair of Ayaka Iwasa and Shina Okuyama, going down 3-6, 1-6.
Tie Summary: Japan 2, India 1
| Rubber | Winner | Loser | Score |
| Singles 1 | Ayaka Iwasa (JPN) | Padmapriya Ramesh Kumar (IND) | 6-1, 7-5 |
| Singles 2 | Srishti Kiran (IND) | Shina Okuyama (JPN) | 7-5, 6-3 |
| Doubles | Ayaka Iwasa / Shina Okuyama (JPN) | Srishti Kiran / Padmapriya Ramesh Kumar (IND) | 6-3, 6-1 |
Despite the opening loss, the young Indian squad showed tremendous heart and resilience in a tough Round Robin Group 4. They will look to regroup quickly as they prepare to take to the clay courts to play their next group-stage match against Italy today.