Rising 16-year-old Indian-origin tennis player Yashwitha Reddy continued her impressive ascent on the ITF World Tennis Tour Juniors last week, storming into the Girls’ Singles Final at the ITF Juniors J60 Albany tournament held from October 6 to 11, 2026, on her home training courts at the Albany Tennis Park in Auckland.
Yashwitha Reddy — Player Profile
At a GlanceDominant Run to the J60 Albany Championship Match
Competing as the top seed at World No. 266 in the ITF Junior Girls’ Singles rankings, just shy of her career-high No. 256, Reddy won five consecutive matches across the eight-group Round Robin opening stage and eight-player knockout draw on the indoor hard courts of Albany Tennis Park, dropping only a single set en route to the championship clash.
Top-seeded Yashwitha Reddy (NZL, ITF Jr 266) was clinical throughout Group A play. She opened her campaign with a commanding 6-3, 6-1 victory over Australia’s Kaitlyn Poon (AUS, ITF Jr 1223), followed by identical 6-3, 6-2 straight-sets wins over compatriots Gloria Young (NZL, ITF Jr 2599) and Katya Horrocks (NZL, ITF Jr 2578) to top Group A undefeated at 3–0 (6–0 in sets).
Advancing to the knockout quarterfinals, Reddy produced her most ruthless display of the week, sweeping past fellow New Zealander Boidehi Ukil (NZL, ITF Jr 1686) 6-0, 6-2 to set up a heavyweight semifinal showdown against third seed and tournament doubles champion Emily Dunn (NZL, ITF Jr 412). In a high-quality three-set battle between two of New Zealand’s premier juniors, Reddy regrouped after dropping a tight second set to prevail 6-2, 5-7, 6-2, repeating her semifinal victory over Dunn from January’s J60 Wellington event.
In Sunday’s championship final against second-seeded Chinese contender Chenming Zhang (CHN, ITF Jr 327), Zhang dictated the indoor baseline exchanges to claim the title 6-2, 6-2, while Reddy secured her second J60 singles runner-up trophy of the 2026 season.
From Rajampet in Andhra Pradesh to New Zealand’s Junior Elite
Born on January 1, 2010, Yashwitha Reddy traces her family roots to Rajampet in YSR District (Kadapa / Annamayya region), Andhra Pradesh, India. She moved from Andhra Pradesh to Auckland, New Zealand, with her parents, including her father Kiran Reddy, at the age of six.
Encouraged by her father to take up an active sport, Yashwitha first picked up a tennis racket at the age of seven after discovering a community tennis court near her family’s home in Auckland. It was, in her own words, love at first sight.
“There was a tennis court near our house, and I just tried it and fell in love with the sport. My favourite thing is the competitive side of tennis—being alone on the court and having to figure out ways to win.”
Her formative years on court were shaped by coaches Josh Mark and Dwayne Cleugh alongside coach Marko, playing out of Auckland’s Campbell Park Tennis Club (CPTC) and its Sparta Tennis Academy, where she has also competed in Auckland’s premier senior interclub competition, the Caro Bowl. Today, she trains daily at Albany Tennis Park under Tennis New Zealand national coaches Chris Bint and Matt Alexander, balancing morning and afternoon on-court and conditioning blocks with a structured two-and-a-half-hour midday online study schedule.
All-Surface National Champion & ITF Grand Slam Grant Recipient
Reddy’s rise through New Zealand’s junior ranks and onto the international circuit has been defined by rare all-surface versatility and consistent progression across higher-grade ITF events:
Multi-Age NZ No. 1 & All-Surface Champion
Held the New Zealand No. 1 national ranking across the U-12, U-14, U-15, and U-16 girls’ age groups, broke into the Top 3 of New Zealand’s U-18 rankings at age 15, and captured New Zealand National Championships across all three surfaces: Hard, Clay, and Grass.
ITF Grand Slam Grant & Tennis NZ Gold
Selected into Tennis New Zealand’s Athlete Development Programme, achieving the prestigious Gold criteria to fund overseas tournament travel, and awarded an ITF Grand Slam Player Grant in the junior category, alongside community support from Precise Homes.
Five ITF Junior Titles Across Oceania
After competing early on the world stage at the Junior Orange Bowl (U-12 Round of 16 in 2022), Eddie Herr, and the 2023 Tennis Europe U-14 Tour, Reddy swept four ITF Junior titles across back-to-back weeks at J30 Lautoka in Fiji in 2025 (two singles, two doubles with Una Misic), won the J60 Gold Coast doubles crown, and reached singles finals at J60 Gold Coast and J60 Christchurch.
Career-High No. 256 & J200 Semifinals
Compiled a 24–13 singles record (64.9%) across 12 tournaments in 2026, reaching singles finals at J60 Albany and J60 Wellington, singles semifinals at J200 Miki in Japan and J100 Tauranga, singles quarterfinals at J200 Sydney, J100 Canberra, and J100 Auckland, doubles finals at J200 Sydney and J100 Tauranga, and qualifying for the main draw of the J500 Osaka Mayor’s Cup.
Alongside fellow Auckland-based Indian-origin Billie Jean King Cup player Aishi Das, Reddy has also been vocal about inspiring more young athletes from the Indian diaspora to take up competitive tennis, setting her sights on competing at the Junior Grand Slams—especially Wimbledon—and a future transition onto the WTA Tour.
Full Match Results — Yashwitha Reddy at ITF Juniors J60 Albany
| Round | Outcome | Matchup & ITF Jr Singles Rankings | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| Final | Runner-Up | [2] Chenming Zhang CHN · ITF Jr 327 d. [1] Yashwitha Reddy NZL · ITF Jr 266 | 6-2, 6-2 |
| Semifinal | Win | [1] Yashwitha Reddy NZL · ITF Jr 266 d. [3] Emily Dunn NZL · ITF Jr 412 | 6-2, 5-7, 6-2 |
| Quarterfinal | Win | [1] Yashwitha Reddy NZL · ITF Jr 266 d. Boidehi Ukil NZL · ITF Jr 1686 | 6-0, 6-2 |
| Round Robin (Group A · M3) | Win | [1] Yashwitha Reddy NZL · ITF Jr 266 d. Katya Horrocks NZL · ITF Jr 2578 | 6-3, 6-2 |
| Round Robin (Group A · M2) | Win | [1] Yashwitha Reddy NZL · ITF Jr 266 d. Gloria Young NZL · ITF Jr 2599 | 6-3, 6-2 |
| Round Robin (Group A · M1) | Win | [1] Yashwitha Reddy NZL · ITF Jr 266 d. Kaitlyn Poon AUS · ITF Jr 1223 | 6-3, 6-1 |