This Tennis Legend Keeps Ultimate Table Tennis Star Yashaswini Ghorpade Going. Not Sania Mirza

NDTV

20-06-2025

The Ultimate Table Tennis wrote a new chapter on the conclusion of its sixth edition as the tournament found a new winner. U Mumba gave a dominating performance and defeated Jaipur Patriots in the grand finale on June 15 in Ahmedabad and clinched their maiden UTT title. The entire Mumbai team performed like a single unit and did not even let Jaipur take a sigh of relief even for once during the match. With this performance, U Mumba etched their name in the history books of UTT.
Although Yashaswini Ghorpade didn't feature in the final, her standout semi-final display epitomised U Mumba's collective strength this season. In the semis against Dempo Goa Challengers, U Mumba needed three victories in all the remaining three matches, in order to reach the final. However, Yashaswini held her nerves and defeated Krittwika Sinha Roy in the women's singles clash and took her side into the final.
The 20-year-old played her first UTT season in 2024 with the Goa Challengers and went on to lift the title with them. In 2025, she was roped in by the U Mumba and surprisingly, she clinched the title again.
Speaking to the media before the final, Yashaswini revealed that before the season, she was going through some tough time but she gathered herself back and gave an exemplary performance.
"Last two-three months were quite difficult for me. Before this season, I was a bit down but things changed when I came here. It is amazing to be around many champion players and the team environment always lifts me up," said Yashaswini.
While replying to a query from NDTV, Yashaswini also stated that tennis legend Roger Federer is her biggest motivation.
"Roger Federer is my biggest motivation. I always sees his matches and even his workout and fitness routines to keep myself going. He is the biggest inspiration and I also want to achieve something like that," she said.
Talking about the grand finale, wins for Lilian Bardet and Bernadette Szocs gave U Mumba an early lead, before Szocs and Akash Pal swept the mixed doubles 3-0 to take them to the brink. Teenager Abhinandh PB sealed the title with a clutch game win in the fourth match.