New Delhi, Jan 12 (PTI) Top Indian singles players Ankita Raina and Rashmika Shrivalli Bhamidipaty will spearhead the home challenge, while Karman Kaur Thandi will return to competitive tennis after a year's break in the ITF W50 tournament beginning here on Monday.

Raina, ranked 286 in the world, had modest success last year and would aim to start 2025 on a winning note. She has done well on the ITF circuit, making four semifinals and several quarterfinals.

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Rashmika, India's No.3 singles player, will also aim for a good start after ending the previous year with two ITF finals at the fag end.

Thandi has been handed a wild card along with former national champion Riya Bhatiya. Thandi skipped the entire 2024 season after getting married to Indian hockey player Gurjant Singh.

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She would need to shake off the rust to go deep in the draw, while Riya too has a good opportunity to make an impression after being given the wild card.

"Karman has shown her potential. Now that she wants to rejoin the circuit, we wanted to help her and that's why the wild card. We are aware of her class and it's our job to support our key players. Riya has also shown promise," DLTA president Rohit Rajpal said.

The singles field has some good players with world No. 119 Darja Semenistaja being the highest-ranked in the main draw. Hungary's Panna Udvardy (155), Brazil's Laura Pigossi (160), Briton Lily Yuriko Miyazaki (182) and Italy's Giorgia Pedone (194) are the top-200 players in the field.

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