A wave of upsets swept through the 31st Fenesta Open National Tennis Championship on Wednesday, 14 October 2026, as multiple seeded players were eliminated in the third round of singles at the DLTA Complex in New Delhi. The under-16 and under-14 sections both saw top names exit the draw, with lower-ranked opponents seizing the moment on what proved a landmark day for the unseeded challengers.

Key Upsets in the Boys' U-16 Draw

The biggest scalp of the day came when Haryana's Harsh Marwaha defeated second-seeded Lakshya Chukka 6-2, 6-4 in the boys' U-16 round of 16. Third-seeded Paranjay Siwach also bowed out, falling to No. 12 seed Monodip Dey of West Bengal 6-4, 6-4.

'It's a big win for me, and I played really well, especially in the second set,' Marwaha said after the match. 'In the second set, mostly because my opponent was not mentally focused, so that helped me out a lot. I didn't have to work that hard in the second set. I'm ready for my quarters. It's against my doubles partner, Vivaan Mirdha. We have played a lot and know each other's games very well,' he added.

Notably, the boys' U-16 quarterfinal will now feature a doubles-partners face-off, with Marwaha set to play Vivaan Mirdha — a rare and intriguing subplot in the bracket.

Saroha Eyes a Historic Double

Ribhav Saroha, who claimed the boys' U-18 title last week at the same venue, remains on course for a rare double crown. Saroha defeated No. 13 seed Gyansh Manchanda 6-2, 6-4 to reach the U-16 quarterfinals, where he will face unseeded P. Nallagundla, who advanced with a commanding 6-1, 6-2 victory over No. 16 seed Anay Pandey.

'The first set was pretty good. I was able to hold my serves pretty well, and I was able to break a serve twice in the first set,' Saroha said. 'Then I started feeling some pain in my shoulder, and I was struggling a bit on my serves. I wasn't able to fully go with the pace on my serves. But my opponent played a really good match, and I played well too. I'm really happy that I'm playing into the quarterfinals because last week also here I was really confident,' he added.

Girls' U-16 and U-14: More Seeds Fall

A day after top seed Deepthi Venkatesan was upset, second-seeded Tanusshri Sathesh also exited the girls' U-16 event, losing to Karnataka's Pooja Nagaraj 7-5, 6-1 in the round of 16. Third-seeded Aaradhya Meena, No. 5 seed Akshita Antil, and No. 7 seed Ranjhana Sangram all progressed to the quarterfinals.

'I felt really good playing against her,' Nagaraj said of her win. 'She is a great player. In the second set, I think I locked in and played. I'll just go in for my next match and give my best and play my game.'

In the girls' U-14 section, top seed Sarena Gahlot suffered an upset defeat to Maharashtra's Rishita Yadav 6-4, 7-6 (7-3). No. 4 seed P. Vattaprambil was also eliminated, while second-seeded Siddhi Pandey and third-seeded Zoha Qureshi secured straight-set wins to reach the quarterfinals.

Boys' U-14 Seeds Hold Firm

The boys' U-14 draw offered a contrasting picture, with the top seeds largely holding their ground. Top seed Aarav Challani beat No. 13 seed Jegan Senthil 6-1, 6-2, and all of the top five seeds in the draw advanced to the quarterfinals — a measure of stability amid the carnage elsewhere on the courts.

Full Results

Boys' U-16 Singles — Round of 16: Ribhav Saroha [1] def. Gyansh Manchanda [13] 6-2, 6-4; Harsh Marwaha def. Lakshya Chukka [2] 6-2, 6-4; Monodip Dey [12] def. Paranjay Siwach [3] 6-4, 6-4; Yaj Malik [6] def. Kaustubh Singh [14] 6-4, 6-1; Kushagra Arora def. Jeevith Sathish [7] 6-2, 6-0; Vivaan Mirdha [8] def. V Gunampally 6-3, 6-1; P Nallagundla def. Anay Pandey [16] 6-1, 6-2; Yashwin Dahiya def. Aaryan Kirrtane 6-2, 6-1.

Girls' U-16 Singles — Round of 16: Pooja Nagaraj def. T Sathesh [2] 7-5, 6-1; Aaradhya Meena [3] def. I Kannan [12] 6-0, 6-2; Akshita Antil [5] def. Vrandika Rajput [11] 7-5, 5-7, 6-1; Ranjhana Sangram [7] def. A. Brahadeeswaran 6-0, 6-1; Shravee Deore def. Sanmitha Harini [8] 7-5, 6-2; Rishita Yadav def. Zoha Qureshi [9] 4-6, 7-5, 6-1; Khushi Kadian [14] def. U Muralidhar 6-2, 7-6 (7-4); Aahida Singh def. Siddhi Pandey [15] 6-4, 6-0.

Boys' U-14 Singles — Round of 16: Aarav Chhallani [1] def. Jegan Senthil [13] 6-1, 6-2; Puneeth Manohar [2] def. Devansh Kamboj [12] 6-3, 6-3; Nibras Hussain [3] def. Manav Patel 6-3, 6-3; Sparsh Patil [4] def. Aditya Kamat 6-4, 6-1; S Chintagunta [5] def. Aarush Sangwan 6-1, 6-1; Sujai Pothula [9] def. Pranav Gaikwad [6] 6-2, 6-4; Taanish Nanda [10] def. V Gunampally [7] 6-1, 6-4; Adeshbir Ghuman [8] def. Vir Chattur [11] 6-2, 7-5.

Girls' U-14 Singles — Round of 16: Rishita Yadav def. Sarena Gahlot [1] 6-4, 7-6 (7-3); Siddhi Pandey [2] def. Tanya Bhatnagar 6-1, 6-1; Zoha Qureshi [3] def. Aaral Vashishta 6-1, 6-1; Aaradhana Tehlan [10] def. P Vattaprambil [4] 7-5, 6-2; Khushi Kadian [5] def. Atharva Peram 6-1, 6-1; Saatvi Mardaniya [6] def. Trisha Bhosale [9] 7-6 (7-5), 6-3; Purvi Patwa [8] def. A Gavinolla [13] 6-1, 6-2; Saanvi Mohan def. Kristi Haloi 6-3, 6-0.

The quarterfinals across all sections are set to take centre stage next, with Ribhav Saroha's double-title bid the story to watch as the 31st Fenesta Open enters its decisive phase.