Vaidehi Chaudhary credits support from seniors for India's run at Billie Jean King Cup 2025

Vaidehi Chaudhary made a memorable start to her Billie Jean King Cup 2025 campaign, clinching a straight-sets win to help India secure a 2-1 victory over Hong Kong China in their Asia-Oceania Group I match in Pune on Thursday.

The 25-year-old Indian tennis player defeated Ho Ching Wu 7(10)-6(8), 6-1 in the opening match of the tie, showing nerves of steel in a tightly fought first set before dominating the second.

“This feeling of winning my first match is really nice,” Vaidehi said after the tie. “The opponent was a little tricky. She was hitting very low balls, which were difficult to return, especially at the start when I was struggling with the rhythm. But gradually, I just kept going and I took it one point at a time.”

Vaidehi credited her teammates for helping her through the tense first set. “The first set was difficult for me but the team helped me get through it,” she added.

Playing at home, the Indian tennis team is looking to make the most of familiar conditions. After a tough opening-day loss to New Zealand, the team has bounced back with wins over Thailand and Hong Kong China.

“Everybody is very excited in the camp. We have to go for the play-offs, so we are determined to win all of our matches,” Vaidehi said, speaking of the team’s upbeat mood.

She also acknowledged the off-court impact of veterans Ankita Raina and Prarthana Thombare.

“They are very experienced and they help us youngsters a lot. They share their thoughts and learnings with us, which have helped us in performing well,” Vaidehi said.

Vaidehi also gave credit to captain Vishal Uppal and coach Radhika Kanitkar Tulpule for India’s strong run so far and also touched upon their coaching approach.

“Both of them are very encouraging. Vishal sir is putting a lot of effort and is supporting us in many ways. Apart from coaching and helping us improve our game, he is also training us to be strong mentally, which is crucial in big tournaments like this. Because even if you are tired physically, you need to be strong mentally to get back in the game,” she concluded.

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