Jensi Kanabar made history as the first Indian female to win the Australian Open U14 title. The 14-year-old staged a stunning comeback in the final, defeating Australia’s Musemma Cilek 3-6, 6-4, 6-1, overturning a 0-2 deficit with remarkable composure against a strong opponent and a partisan home crowd.
Kanabar dominated the 2026 Australian Open Asia-Pacific Elite 14 & Under Trophy, topping Group A with a perfect 3-0 record. She began with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Nepal’s Shivali Gurung, followed by 7-5, 6-4 against China’s Jinyu Zhou, and closed the round-robin with a 6-0, 6-1 victory over New Zealand’s Jocelyn Ke.
Kanabar’s confidence peaked in the knockout rounds. In the semi-final against Japan’s Aoi Yoshida, she won a tight first-set tiebreak 7-6(3) and sealed the match 6-2 to reach the final. She then staged a remarkable comeback against Cilek to claim the historic title.
The Asia-Pacific Elite 14 & Under Trophy, launched in 2020 by the Asian Tennis Federation and Tennis Australia and resumed in 2023 after a Covid hiatus, saw Kanabar become the first Indian female champion, following Arnav Paparkar’s boys’ title win in 2024.
