How Ankita Raina's dream of a Grand Slam qualification turned into reality

In the end, winning a set in a singles match in Dubai went a long way in Ankita Raina realising her Grand Slam dream in Melbourne, albeit in doubles.

Battling with rising Serbian teen Olga Danilovic in the final qualifying round for the Australian Open in Dubai last month, India’s top-ranked woman player fought back grittily to win the second set before running out of steam in the third. But the 2-6, 6-3, 1-6 scoreline was enough for the tournament organisers to draft Raina as one of the six alternate players from the women's qualifiers and fly her to Melbourne for a potential lucky loser spot to fill in for withdrawals.

“That day I gave everything I had even though physically I wasn’t feeling a 100 percent. But I fought till the last point,” Raina said from Melbourne. “Sometimes I feel things happen exactly when they are meant to.”

They did for Raina on Sunday. The 28-year-old will finally make her Grand Slam main draw debut at the Australian Open after she found her name in the women’s doubles draw partnering Romania’s Mihaela Buzarnescu. Starting with the 2018 French Open, Raina has had nine attempts in three years at entering a Slam through the singles qualifiers, going as far as the third and final round for the first time last month. Since turning pro in 2009, the Ahmedabad-born Raina—who trains with Hemant Bendrey in Pune—has won 11 singles and 19 doubles titles on the ITF circuit, yet a Grand Slam spot eluded the hardworking pro over the years.

“Finally my time to be part of a Grand Slam has come, and I’m very excited and looking forward to it. It has been the efforts of so many people who have worked with me all these years as well as my family,” Raina, who will become the fifth Indian woman to play in a Grand Slam main draw in the Open era and the first since Sania Mirza, said.

Raina could still make it to the singles draw as a lucky loser if three players withdraw before their first-round matches in the next couple of days, and she remains “very hopeful” about lady luck continuing to smile on her in Melbourne. Just like it did once Raina, ranked 119th in doubles, signed in with the 32-year-old Buzarnescu—a former top-20 singles player currently ranked 138 in doubles—for the doubles draw a day before the deadline.

“I was here (in Melbourne) and one of my friends told me there’s good chance that I’ll be able to get in with my doubles ranking. So I asked Mihaela to play together,” Raina said.

Raina and her new partner will take on Australian wild cards Belinda Woolcock and Olivia Gadecki in the opening round, and the Indian wants to ensure she enjoys every moment of it. “We are pairing up for the first time but I know her (Buzarnescu) from tournaments. I feel confident and prepared with my game and I’m looking at doing well and enjoying here, having worked towards it for years now. So I’ll make sure I have fun out there!” Raina said.

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