Teenaged Fruhvirtova, top Indian players in action at ITF Women's Open

BENGALURU: The 15-year-old Brenda Fruhvirtova, who qualified for the Australian Open main draw and is the youngest player in the top-250, will be the star attraction along with home favourites Ankita Raina and Karman Kaur Thandi when the ITF Women's Open begins here on March 6.

Fruhvirtova had become the fifth-youngest qualifier in the Australian Open history. The Czech player is the younger sister of world number 54 Linda.

Raina (ranked 241) and Thandi (ranked 267) will lead the Indian challenge at the KSLTA Stadium.

''It was a great time for tennis fans during the (ATP) Bengaluru Open and we are ready to bring another week full of exciting tennis action with KPB Trust ITF Women's Open. This underlines the status of Bengaluru and KSLTA as one of the premier tennis destinations in the country,'' said KSLTA secretary Maheshwar Rao.

Former world No. 30 Misaki Doi of Japan, France's Amandine Hesse and Valentini Grammatikopoulou of Greece are among the other international players participating in the event.

The main draw will begin from March 7 while the qualifying matches will be played on March 5 and 6.