Jensi’s leap and leap of faith

For the WTA 250 Chennai Open Qualifiers, Diya Ramesh and Shrivalli Bhamidipaty had already been announced as the two Indian wild cards. But the Tamil Nadu Tennis Association had promised Dipakbhai Kanabar that Shrivalli’s wild card will be reallocated to Jensi, his 14-year-old daughter and India’s second-best female junior, provided they were onsite and a few withdrawals led to Shrivalli entering the draw based on her ranking.

Dipakbhai and Jensi took a leap of faith. They made the 10-hour journey from Junagadh, a city in western Gujarat, to Chennai. “We thought that if we got in, fine. Otherwise, we will visit some temples in Rameswaram and Madurai before heading back,” said Dipakbhai.

Coached by Dipakbhai, a schoolteacher by profession, Jensi is already amongst the world’s top-50 juniors. She has also played two women’s ITFs but Tour-level tennis is a different ball game. Jensi was up against Polish World No.

287 Weronika Falkowska, a player 12 years older and 13cm taller than her. Falkowska won 6-2, 5-7, 6-3 but the teenager made her sweat for more than two hours under the floodlights on Saturday evening. The Pole initially overpowered Jensi, but in the second set the Indian could read Falkowska’s serve.

Falkowska tried surprising Jensi with drop shots and the Indian responded with impressive court coverage. The Pole attempted closing the net but on multiple occasions, ended up watching gorgeous passing forehands from Jensi.

Facing a left-handed player, quite uncommon in the sport, added to the tension Falkowska was feeling. “In the second set, Falkowska was unable to handle the shots hit into her body,” said Jensi. The Pole, however, gathered her composure and edged the teenager in the decider.

Jensi was visibly emotional after the loss but before leaving the court, she had to complete one more task — giving an autograph to a woman who had brought her young son to watch the sport!