The women’s doubles is equally up in the air as the men’s doubles. All the top pairs can beat each other with some partner changes as well. The Malaysia Open saw an unseeded pair also take the title. Fukushima and Matsumoto of Japan, a new partnership getting off to a great start.
The Malaysian Open champions have a great chance to go back-to-back in India. A favourable draw against the Polish WR 68 is likely followed by Indian Olympians Crasto and Ponnappa. We would say this is an easy draw for the in-form pair. The momentum they have from the Malaysia Open will give them more confidence to perform again.
The Chinese fourth seeds look good, Li and Luo of China. They reached the semi-final last week in the Malaysia Open only beaten by the eventual winners from Japan. They have a good draw in Malaysia with some straightforward matches to the semi-final where they would likely face compatriots Liu and Tan. The two pairs faced off 5 times last year with TAN/LIU taking the H2H 4-1. For us Li and Luo could take a step to balance that out again as we saw TAN/LIU beaten by another Chinese pair in the Malaysia Open semi-final.
A repeat of our Women’s doubles call in Malaysia, we think BAEK and LEE have a better opportunity in India. A great opportunity for fairly easy first and second-round matches will give them time to grow into the India Open. In Malaysia, they were beaten by the eventual winners from Japan. This time we can see them going all the way and getting payback in the semi-finals, where they can avenge their defeat.
So where would our money be going? LI and LUO of China.
How do the Indian pairs fair?
With 9 pairs in the draw, India has very strong representation in Delhi. The key question is whether any of them can actually win the title. let’s start with the highest-ranked pair, Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand Pullela, who are the 9th-ranked doubles pair in the world. They are still recovering from their disappointment from not qualifying for the Olympics in Paris last year, which was mainly due to injuries. Since the Olympics, they have been a little underwhelming. One title at the Syed Modi 300 and one semi-final finish at the Macau Open. These were balanced out by multiple first-round exits in the stronger tournaments. Playing in front of a home crowd could be the boost they need to get back on track but we doubt they will progress very far. The first and second rounds are very winnable for them. We think the quarterfinal will be too tough though.
Ashwini Ponnappa & Tanisha Crasto
The Indian Olympians who beat the top-ranked pair to the qualification spot is Ashwini Ponnappa and Tanisha Crasto. Since their disappointing performance in the Summer Olympics, this pair have been very quiet. A late-year outing in India saw them rewarded with a 100 title and a good 300 semi-final performance. There are plenty of rumours about Ponnappa retiring considering she is 35 and Tanisha has taken up a mixed doubles partnership which could indicate the partnership will end sooner rather than later. In Delhi they have a promising draw. Fellow Indians Gupta and Sharma will be swept aside only to face the winners of the Malaysia Open in the second round. A short but sweet outing for them in this one is our call.
Rutaparna & Swetaparna Panda
The only other real chance for India is the Panda sisters who sit at 38 on the world rankings. Over the past few years, they had one-off highlights but never put a consistent run together. They are not young hot shots anymore as Rutaparna is 25 but her sister Swetaparna is only 19. They need to start performing or their dreams will be gone quickly. Results from 2024 are mainly first-round exits for the world tour events. They do well at Challenge events, will that be their level? We can see them reaching the second round in Delhi but a swift loss awaits them in the R16.
The emerging talent?
The other pairs, the Gahlawat sisters, Pramuthesh and Singh, Gupta and Sharma, Alvekar and Deshpande & the Rawat sisters will all face first-round losses. This will be a good experience for them at a top-level event. None of these pairs have shown anything last season which suggests they will be able to over come the odds. Maybe the home crowd can push them to new heights. We don’t think it’s likely. There is an outside chance for Bhat K and Gautam. They are drawn against the Canadians Crystal Lai and Jackie Dent who we see as a similar level. This could be a great match for experience with a 50/50 chance of going through, they won’t get further though with a likely R16 match against Li and Luo of China.
For the crowd favourites there is little chance of a podium finish, our prediction would indicate a quarter-final at best for the home players.
- Malaysia Open Review and Results 2025 – did our predictions hold? - January 15, 2025
- India Open 2025 – Women’s Singles Draw and Predictions - January 15, 2025
- India Open 2025 – Women’s Doubles Draw and Predictions! - January 13, 2025
