Sahaja Yamalapalli clinched the ITF pro title at the W15 Los Angeles tournament, defeating American Amy Zhu in a hard-fought straight-sets victory (6-4, 7-6(4)) to win the SoCal Pro Series title.
With this title, Sahaja becomes only the third Indian woman ever to win a pro title in America. The other two are Sania Mirza, who first won a pro title at the W15 Boca Raton in 2004, and Karman Thandi, who claimed the W60 Evansville title in 2023, almost a decade later.
Sahaja had a fine run until the finals. In the semifinals, she defeated a top-10-ranked collegiate player. With this title win, Sahaja Yamalapalli achieved her career-best ranking of 305, surpassing her previous high of 335 in January 2024.
SAHAJA YAMALAPALLI – CHAMPION🏆
ITF W15 Los Angeles, USA: 🇮🇳Sahaja defeats American Amy Zhu 6-4 7-6(4) in a closely contested final to take the #SoCalProSeries women’s single title at Jack Kramer Club in Rolling Hills Estates!
She stormed to Sunday’s title without losing a set… pic.twitter.com/6M0nOX5ifm
— Indian Tennis Daily (ITD) (@IndTennisDaily) July 1, 2024
Rising Indian Tennis Star
Sahaja Yamalapalli who has already won three ITF singles titles has added another title to her kitty by winning the SoCal Pro Series title. Representing Sam Houston State University team she made history in 2019 as the second tennis player at the university to be named Player of the Year, following Irina Sotnikova’s achievement in 2009.
Sahaja made headlines in February when she defeated world No. 92 and top seed Kayla Day of America in the first round of the WTA Mumbai Open. Last year, she beat world No. 186 Ekaterina Makarova of Russia in the ITF W25 Solapur.
Timely Support
Sahaja Yamalapalli received timely support when she was in desperate need of funds to participate in the competition, first from Lakshya Sports, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting sports talent in India, followed by Techwave company, a global IT major.