Mumbai will once again take centre stage on the Indian tennis calendar as the doubles main draw for the 2026 L&T Mumbai Open WTA 125K Series was unveiled on Tuesday at the Maharashtra State Lawn Tennis Association (MSLTA), bringing together a compelling mix of India’s leading players and accomplished international names.
India’s No. 1 women’s doubles player Rutuja Bhosale headlines the draw, partnering Thailand’s Peangtarn Plipuech as the top-seeded pair for the tournament, which will be played from February 4 to 8. The announcement has added further intrigue to a week that already promises high-quality singles action, with the doubles field featuring multiple Grand Slam-level competitors, recent WTA finalists, and several players who have enjoyed success in Mumbai in previous seasons.
For Bhosale, the tournament represents a chance to convert consistency into silverware. The 29-year-old has been one of India’s most reliable doubles performers over the past two seasons, reaching the semi-finals of the Maharashtra Open earlier this year and finishing runner-up at the WTA 125 event in Jinan, China. Those results have helped cement her position at the top of India’s doubles rankings, and the Mumbai Open now offers an ideal platform to chase a home-soil title.
Bhosale and Plipuech will open their campaign against Thailand’s Mananchaya Sanwangkaew and Argentina’s Nicole Fossa Huergo, a pairing that brings together power from the baseline and strong net play. It will be an early test for the top seeds, but one that Bhosale is embracing, especially in familiar surroundings.
“I’ve been playing at MSLTA since I was ten years old, so to see a WTA event happening here still feels unreal,” Bhosale said. “It’s extremely exciting to see venues like MSLTA provide a platform for the growth of tennis in India. Playing such a high-level tournament at a place that shaped my career is very special.”
India will have a strong presence across the draw, highlighted by an all-Indian wildcard pairing of Ankita Raina and Shrivalli Bhamidipaty. Ranked No. 4 and No. 5 respectively in the national doubles list, the duo will take on France’s Leolia Jeanjean and Japan’s Naima Karamoko in the opening round. While Jeanjean arrives in Mumbai as the third seed in the singles draw, Raina and Bhamidipaty will be buoyed by home support and the familiarity of Indian conditions.
Another Indian player to watch is Prarthana Thombare, who finished runner-up in the doubles at last year’s Mumbai Open. Thombare teams up this time with 21-year-old Russian Alevtina Ibragimova, and the pair face a challenging first-round encounter against second seeds Elena Pridankina and Polina Iatcenko. Pridankina, currently ranked inside the world’s top 75 in doubles, brings a wealth of tour experience, making this one of the most intriguing ties in the opening round.
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Thombare enters the tournament in strong form after a productive 2025 that included a semi-final finish at a WTA 125 event in Turkey and a runner-up showing at the WTA Newport in the United States. Playing in Mumbai again is something she clearly relishes.
“It’s always very enjoyable and joyful to play in India, especially in Maharashtra,” Thombare said. “This is a very special tournament for me it’s my fourth year here. It’s great to be back in Mumbai for another edition and hopefully I can lift the trophy this time.”
Beyond the Indian contingent, the doubles draw also features several familiar names from the singles competition. Latvia’s Darja Semenistaja, the singles champion here in 2024, returns to Mumbai partnering Poland’s Zuzanna Pawlikowska. They will face Japan’s Hiroko Kuwata and South Korea’s Sohyun Park in their opening match. Thailand’s Mananchaya Sanwangkaew, last season’s singles runner-up, is also part of the doubles field, adding further depth and unpredictability to the draw.
France’s Leolia Jeanjean, currently one of the standout players in the singles main draw, will be pulling double duty as well, underlining how competitive the doubles event has become at the Mumbai Open. With several singles contenders also eyeing doubles success, the tournament is set to deliver a packed schedule of high-quality match-ups.
Now in its fifth year, the L&T Mumbai Open WTA 125K Series has steadily grown into one of Asia’s most important WTA 125 events, providing Indian players with a rare opportunity to compete at a high level without leaving the country. Past champions include Aryna Sabalenka, who won the 2017 edition as a teenager before rising to Grand Slam glory, Thailand’s Luksika Kumkhum in 2018, Latvia’s Darja Semenistaja in 2024, and Switzerland’s Jil Teichmann in 2025.
With a doubles field led by Rutuja Bhosale, supported by experienced campaigners like Prarthana Thombare and Ankita Raina, and strengthened by international names across the draw, the 2026 edition promises a thrilling contest for the doubles crown.
As the action begins at MSLTA, Mumbai is once again set to be a focal point of women’s tennis in the region.
