Fifteen year old Indian teenager Maaya Rajeshwaran's dream of entering her maiden final of the fourth edition of the prestigious L&T Mumbai Open WTA 125 Series came to an end at the Cricket Club of India’s Flood lit Tennis Centre Hard court in Mumbai.

Maaya, who is coached by R Manoj Kumar, went down fighting to Swiss fifth seed Jil Teichmann 3-6,1-6 in a match that lasted one hour and seven minutes

In the other Singles semifinal, Thailand’s Mananchaya Sawangkaew, eighth seed, stunned second-seeded Rebecca Marino of Canada with an emphatic 6-2, 6-2 victory and secured a place in the final. 

The 27-year old Jil set the tone of the first set early on winning the opening first four games which included two service breaks. Unseeded Maaya, having won the next two games in a row, squandered game point twice in the next, to let her opponent off the hook.  The experienced southpaw fought back well to pocket the first set 6-3 in 36 minutes.  

The Barcelona born Jil continued to build on her momentum in the second set by once again winning the first four games, but Maaya’s relentless efforts saw her win the fifth game. The young Indian prodigy who served two aces in the match couldn’t keep up with her rival’s consistent strong returns and lost the next two and the set 1-6 in 31 minutes.

Earlier Maaya who started the week as a qualifying wild card defeated Iryna Shymanovich, former Top 50 player Zarina Diyas (via retirement) and fellow qualifier Mei Yamaguchi in three hard fought sets to enter the semis of the largest professional women's tennis tournament in India.

Mananchaya on the other hand delivered an impressive performance that left little room for her higher-ranked opponent to gain any foothold in the first semifinal match. The first set saw the Thai assert her dominance early, breaking Rebecca’s serve twice with clinical returns. Her aggressive approach, combined with a powerful serve, yielded three aces that kept the Canadian under constant pressure. Rebecca struggled to find a rhythm, often committing unforced errors as Mananchaya dictated the pace of play from the baseline.

Riding the momentum of her first-set triumph, Mananchaya carried the same intensity into the second set. She maintained relentless pressure on her rival, moving swiftly around the court and capitalised on her defensive lapses. Mananchaya’s aggressive returns and accurate groundstrokes paved the way for another two service breaks. Her composed demeanour and strategic shot placement prevented Marino from staging any meaningful comeback.

Despite Rebecca 's attempts to fight back, the Thai player maintained control throughout, wrapping up the set and match 6-2.

Earlier in the day,  Russian duo of Amina Anshba and Elena Pridankina, seeded second stormed into the doubles final having overcome a one-set deficit to defeat the fourth-seeded Italian pair, Nicole Fossa Huergo and Camilla Rosatello, 4-6, 6-3, 10-3.

The Italians started strong, racing to a 4-0 lead in the first set by breaking the Russian pair's serve twice. Despite a spirited comeback attempt by Anshba and Pridankina, who narrowed the gap to 4-3, the Italians held their nerve to clinch the set 6-4.

Refusing to back down, the Russian duo displayed greater composure and tactical sharpness in the second set, breaking their opponents three times to level the match at one set apiece with a 6-3 victory.

The deciding third set proved thrilling, with Anshba and Pridankina dominating the tiebreak 10-3, showcasing clinical shot-making and superior teamwork. The Russians will face a pair of Arianne Hartono & Prarthana Thombare in the Doubles finale. The Dutch-Indo pair on Friday had shocked third seed Eden Silva & Tikhonova Anastasia in three hard fought sets 2-6, 6-4, 10-2

Results (Semis)

Singles:- 5) Jil Teichmann bt WC) Maaya Rajeshwaran 6-3, 6-1; 8) Mananchaya Sawangkaew bt 2) Rebecca Marino 6-2, 6-2.

Doubles:- Arianne Hartono & Prarthana Thombare bt 3) Eden Silva & Tikhonova Anastasia 2-6, 6-4, 10-2; 2) Amina Anshba & Elena Pridankina bt 4) Camilla Rosatello & Nicole Fossa Huergo 4-6, 6-3, 10-3.

Photo Cover: Mananchaya Sawangkaew shocked second seed Rebecca Marino in the other semis

Photo Above: Fifth seed Jil Teichmann dashed unseeded Maaya Rajeshwaran dream run in the semis