Anktia Raina wins ITF singles title in Nonthabari

India's best woman singles player Ankita Raina won her first ITF singles title of the season and 10th of her career when she beat Chloe Paquet in the summit clash of the USD 25000 event in Nonthaburi, Thailand on Sunday. The third seed Indian recorded a facile 6-3 7-5 win over the fourth seed French woman, ranked even places below the Indian at 178.

She has also won the doubles title with Dutch partner Bibiane Schoofs. It was Ankita's first victory against Paquet, who emerged winner in previous two meetings.

It has been a good start for Ankita in the 2020 season, as she had made the semifinals at the another USD 25000 event in Canberra. "It's a positive start to the season. Actually the last year also ended on a winning note in Solapur singles and doubles both. I didn't get much time for pre-season training but my coach was travelling for 3 weeks which helped me to train physically and tennis wise," Ankita told PTI.

"We came few days early before the tournament started here in Thailand. At this level, little aspects need to be improved everyday and even during tournaments, so even if I get 3-4 sessions with my coach during the tournament, improvement is seen," she added.