Kolhapur's teen tennis star Aishwarya Jadhav sets out for Wimbledon challenge

Kolhapur: Teen tennis starlet Aishwarya Dayanand Jadhav, the only player from India to be selected for U14 Junior Wimbledon Tennis Competition, set out for the biggest challenge of her career as she left for London from Delhi on Sunday.

The grass-court event will begin on July 7 and will be held at the All England Club in London.

Aishwarya will be attending a pre-event training session from July 4-6 to fine-tune her preparation for the competition.

Earlier, speaking to UNI the 13-year-old shared that at the beginning of 2021, she was 94th ranked in India in the under-14 group girls category. However, by end of the year, she was ranked number seven. And there has been no turning back.

Jadhav, who is ranked No.1 by the All India Tennis Association (AITA) in the U14 group, will also compete at the Europe Junior Tennis tournament in Belgium, Paris, and Germany, after Wimbledon.

Aishwarya first took up her tennis racket at the tender age of five and has been taking part in competitions since she was nine years old. She has won many singles and doubles competitions at the district, state, and national levels.

Aishwarya's parents hailing from a rural area of Panhala tehsil -- Yuvluj village -- shifted to Kolhapur city only to help their daughter's tennis career and dreams.

She is ever grateful to have been able to reach where she is today due to her parent's support.

"It is because of her father's, Dayanand Jadhav, works as a private surveyor, hard work and support, she could make her career in tennis," Aishwarya revealed in a chat with UNI last month.

After being named for the Wimbledon, Aishwarya was felicitated by Principal Secretary Vikas Kharge while Congress MLA Ruturaj Patil gave a cheque of Rs 50,000 to help sponsor her Wimbledon tour.

With a dream of winning and raising the Tricolour high, Aishwarya is all set to take the Wimbledon challenge and the nation will be cheering for her all the way. (UNI)