Indian tennis prodigy Jensi Kanabar has created history at Melbourne Park, becoming the first Indian female to win the Australian Open Asia-Pacific Elite 14 & Under title after a gritty three-set victory over Australia’s Musemma Cilek.
The 14-year-old staged an impressive comeback in Friday’s final, recovering from a set down to defeat the local favourite 3-6, 6-4, 6-1 in front of a partisan home crowd. Kanabar showed remarkable composure and resilience after trailing early, turning the momentum decisively in her favour as the match wore on.
With the victory, Kanabar became only the second Indian to lift the prestigious trophy, following Arnav Paparkar’s triumph in the boys’ category in 2024. Her win also marked a milestone moment for Indian women’s tennis at the junior international level.
Kanabar’s title run at the 2026 Australian Open Asia-Pacific Elite 14 & Under event was dominant from start to finish. She topped Group A in the round-robin stage with a perfect 3-0 record, winning all her matches in straight sets. Her campaign opened with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Nepal’s Shivali Gurung, followed by a 7-5, 6-4 victory against China’s Jinyu Zhou, before closing the group stage with a commanding 6-0, 6-1 win over New Zealand’s Jocelyn Ke.
Her confidence carried into the knockout rounds, where she delivered a composed performance in the semi-final against Japan’s Aoi Yoshida. Kanabar edged a tense first-set tiebreak before pulling away to secure a 7-6(3), 6-2 win and book her place in the final.
The Asia-Pacific Elite 14 & Under Trophy, launched in 2020 through a partnership between the Asian Tennis Federation and Tennis Australia, was paused during the Covid-19 pandemic before resuming in 2023. Kanabar’s victory adds to India’s growing presence in international junior tennis and highlights a strong pipeline of emerging talent.
Hailing from Junagadh in Gujarat, Kanabar is regarded as one of India’s most promising young players. She has previously held the No.1 ranking in the All India Tennis Association Girls Under-14 and Under-16 categories and, by early 2026, had already broken into the AITA women’s singles rankings.
Her rise has been marked by consistent success at both domestic and international levels. In September 2025, she won the GSPDP Asian Under-14 Junior Championship in Manila, defeating South Korea’s Lim Yerin in the final, and later made an immediate impact on the ITF junior circuit by claiming the ITF J30 Ahmedabad singles title on debut.
Kanabar has also begun transitioning to senior competition, qualifying for the main draw of an ITF W15 women’s tournament at just 14 years of age. Her Australian Open triumph is widely seen as another significant step in what is shaping up to be a promising international career.
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