Sunitha Rao, Tara Iyer and Kyra Shroff have been given wild card entries for the $175,000 Sunfeast Open, which begins here on Monday, though a cloud of uncertainty still hangs over injured Sania Mirza’s participation.
Sunitha, who turns 23 next month, has been a regular feature in the tournament and even made it to the second round in the inaugural edition two years back.
Nineteen-year-old Tara Iyer, considered a great future prospect, made it to the final at the Asian championship in Tashkhent besides winning three ITF tournaments on the trot.
Shroff, who won the national junior title this year to celebrate her 14th birthday, has bravely soldiered on despite being a diabetic dependent on insulin.
Tournament director Jaideep Mukerjea said Sania will arrive here on Sunday. “Sania is avoiding practise these days. We all hope she will be able to make it,” he said. He confirmed Sania will not participate in doubles event, even if she decides to play singles.
Meanwhile, the two-day qualifying event starts on Friday and India’s Aishwarya Srivastava and Shivika Burman have got wildcards for the qualifiers.