India’s Maaya Rajeshwaran Revathi made history in Indian tennis on Sunday, October 11, by claiming her first professional singles title at the W35 Lagos tournament in Portugal. The 17-year-old beat Spain’s Celia Cervino Ruiz 6-4, 6-2 in the final to become the youngest Indian woman to win a W35-level singles title, breaking a record held by Sania Mirza for 22 years.
The achievement drew notable similarities to Mirza’s breakthrough in 2004. Both players were 17 when they won titles in Lagos, with Maaya securing her victory in Portugal on October 11, 2026, and Mirza winning in Lagos, Nigeria, on October 10, 2004. At 17 years and three months, Maaya surpassed Mirza, who was 17 years and 10 months old when she achieved the feat.
The title represents a major milestone for Maaya, who has established herself as one of India’s most promising young tennis players. Her performances throughout the tournament demonstrated her ability to challenge more experienced players and opponents ranked higher than her on the professional circuit.
MAAYA’S IMPRESSIVE JOURNEY TO THE TITLE IN LAGOS
Maaya started her campaign in the qualifying rounds before carrying her strong form into the main draw, registering several impressive wins. Her most significant result came in the first round, where she upset top seed Justina Mikulskyte, ranked 246th in the world, 7-6(1), 6-1. Despite falling behind 0-5 in the opening set, Maaya mounted a comeback, dominated the tie-break and then controlled the second set.
She continued her run with a convincing 6-2, 6-0 win over Argentina’s Berta Bonardi in the second round. The Indian teenager remained in excellent form in the quarter-finals, defeating eighth seed Tian Jialin 6-2, 6-1 to book her place in the semi-finals.
Maaya reached the final after Britain’s Britt Du Pree conceded a walkover in their semi-final encounter. In the title match against Cervino Ruiz, the Indian stayed composed and secured a straight-sets win, prevailing 6-4, 6-2.
Her achievements were not limited to singles. Maaya also won the doubles title alongside Ukraine’s Yelyzaveta Kotliar. After losing the opening set 0-6, the pair rallied to beat Min Liu and Carlotta Moccia 0-6, 6-2, 10-7 in the deciding super tie-break.
Claiming both the singles and doubles titles in the same week made Maaya’s breakthrough in Portugal even more remarkable, providing an encouraging indication of her potential in professional tennis.
