Nagpur heat forces 3 players to retire on day 2 Three players withdrew from their matches during the ITF Women’s World Tennis Tour in Nagpur on Wednesday due to the extreme heat. The incident occurred on the second day of the tournament at the NDHTA courts in Ram Nagar. Among those retiring were Netherlands’ Emma Van Poppel, Nepal’s Abhilasha Bista, and India’s seventh-seeded Akanksha Nitture. The intense afternoon temperatures disrupted their performance, leading to their early exits. Despite the heat, experienced players like fourth-seeded Ankita Raina and third-ranked Zeel Desai advanced without difficulty. Raina, seeded fourth, defeated compatriot Soha Sadiq in straight sets (6-3, 6-4), showcasing her composure under pressure. Desai also progressed smoothly, defeating A Easwaramurthi 6-2, 6-2 to secure her place in the pre-quarterfinals. The day saw an unexpected upset as wild card Kashish Bhatia stunned higher-ranked Bela Tamkhankar with a 6-1, 6-2 victory. Bhatia will now face Madhurima Sawant, who overcame Nitture’s early retirement. Nitture retired in the second set after trailing 0-2, allowing Sawant to advance. Sawant won the first set 7-6 (6) against Nitture. Sonal Patil also contributed to the heat-related retirements, forcing Van Poppel to withdraw after winning the first set 6-4. Patil led 4-0 in the second set when Van Poppel retired. Meanwhile, the Netherlands’ Emma and Ekaterina Khodzhaeva opted for a walkover against the India-Malaysia pair Pooja Ingale and Elsa Wan in the women’s doubles opening round. Abhilasha Bista retired against Germany’s A Kuparev in the second set (1-1) after losing the first set 0-6. In the women’s singles pre-quarterfinals, top seed Vaishnavi Adkar will face Ksenia Laskutova, while second seed Zhibek Kulambayuva will take on Pooja Ingale.#nagpur #ram_nagar #itf_women_s_world_tennis_tour #ndhta_courts #akanksha_nitture
