India’s Niki Kaliyanda Poonacha is headed for the second Grand Slam appearance of his career. The 31-year-old and Ecuador’s Gonzalo Escobar have been handed a place in the US Open 2026 men’s doubles main draw as alternates, following the withdrawal of Peru’s Ignacio Buse and Argentina’s Marco Trungelliti.
It will be the first Grand Slam appearance for Poonacha and Escobar as a team, and it comes at the end of the most productive stretch of the Indian’s professional career.
The pair open against Czech-Austrian duo Petr Nouza and Neil Oberleitner, who arrive in New York with a trophy already in hand. The match is scheduled for approximately 11:30 PM IST.
How Poonacha and Escobar Got Into the Draw
Alternate entry in Grand Slam doubles works on a simple principle: teams sign in on site, and when a direct-acceptance pair withdraws before the draw is finalised, the next alternate on the list takes the vacant spot.
Buse and Trungelliti’s withdrawal opened that door. Poonacha and Escobar, with a combined ranking well inside the range required, were next in line.
For Poonacha, it is a reward for a season in which he has been one of the busiest and most successful doubles players on the ATP Challenger Tour.
Poonacha’s Breakout 2026 Season
The numbers behind the Indian’s 2026 campaign explain why this main draw entry was always likely to arrive at some point this year:
- Career-high ATP doubles ranking of No. 81
- Six ATP Challenger doubles titles in 2026, two of them alongside Escobar
- ATP 250 Los Cabos semi-final with Escobar
The Challenger haul has been spread across surfaces and continents — from Chennai and Bengaluru at home early in the season, to Menorca on clay in Europe, to back-to-back titles in Lexington and Brownsburg during the American hard-court swing in August. Those last two were with Escobar, and they set up the partnership that now takes the court in New York.
The Los Cabos semi-final in July was the pair’s deepest run at ATP Tour level and the strongest signal that the combination works against tour-level opposition.
Only Poonacha’s Second Grand Slam
Poonacha made his Grand Slam debut earlier this season at the Australian Open 2026, partnering Thailand’s Pruchya Isaro. That remains his only other appearance in a major, making the US Open his second Slam and his first at Flushing Meadows.
Isaro has been a regular partner for Poonacha through the season — the two won titles together in Chennai, Menorca and Lyon — but it is the Escobar partnership that has produced his best hard-court results in the second half of the year.
Escobar brings the more extensive Grand Slam résumé. The Ecuadorian has been a fixture on the doubles circuit for close to a decade, has previously been ranked inside the world’s top 40 in doubles, and has main draw experience across all four majors.
The Opponents: Nouza and Oberleitner
The first-round assignment is a difficult one. Petr Nouza and Neil Oberleitner won the ATP 250 title at Winston-Salem last week, arriving in New York with match wins and rhythm on the same hard courts.
The Czech-Austrian pair have been together for much of 2026, adding an ATP Challenger title in Bordeaux and a runner-up finish in Sardinia earlier in the season. Oberleitner also has an India connection — he won the Oeiras Challenger this year alongside Sriram Balaji.
Why It Matters for Indian Tennis
India’s presence in Grand Slam doubles draws has thinned considerably over the last few seasons. Poonacha’s arrival at No. 81 in the world, and his second major appearance of the calendar year, represents a genuine step forward for a player who spent years grinding on the ITF and lower-tier Challenger circuit before breaking through.
A win tonight would be his first at Grand Slam level.
Follow Indian Tennis Daily for live updates from the US Open 2026 men’s doubles draw.