Ankita Raina may not have got the desired result in her first major main draw outing, but Thursday’s reverse failed to dim her spirits.
“I belong here,” the 28-year-old Indian said of the Grand Slam stage.
Raina and her Romanian partner Mihaela Buzarnescu bowed to wildcard entrants Olivia Gadecki and Belinda Woolcock 3-6, 0-6 in an Australian Open first-round doubles clash.

The Indian, ranked 181 in singles and 115 in doubles, started her season with the qualifying competition in Dubai. She made the trip Down Under as a lucky loser and played the WTA 500 Series tournament prior to the Melbourne Park Slam, where she made the doubles cut.

“It’s starting to feel familiar,” said Raina, who passed her idol Rafael Nadal in the players’ zone as she walked up for press. “In the last couple of years, I’ve played the qualifiers of all the Slams. I came closest to qualifying this time. I competed hard in Dubai and I’m happy with that. It’s a good feeling to have at the start of the year.”
Raina remembers having her photograph clicked with Nadal as a junior.
“I’m comfortable in this environment,” she said when speaking to the media on the grounds. “I remember four years ago, I was one out of the Wimbledon qualies. I was there alone. I was hanging around, waiting for an opportunity. The other girls had coaches, friends. Now I know what to do, where to go, who I can tap for practice.”
The India No.1, who trains with Hemanth Bendre in Pune, said she started believing in herself a couple of years ago. “My strength is my ability to persevere, I don’t know how to give up,” she said.
Raina reached out to mental trainers, Debashree Marathe (in Pune) and Caroline Zadina (WTA), during the Covid-19 lockdown last year. “The frequency of ups and downs in sport is huge. It’s not like any other profession,” she said. “You are dealing with a result every day.”
The 28-year-old is targeting the top-100. “I want to play Grand Slam main draws,” she said. “I’m going to keep at it regardless of the result.”
In another doubles reverse for India on the day, Divij Sharan and Slovakia’s Igor Zelenay went down 1-6, 4-6 to the German pairing of Yannick Hanfmann and Kevin Krawietz.