Published:
Andhra Pradesh’s Akiti Sri Vaishali of Vijayawada and S Aaron Ronaldinho of Anantapur have been selected to represent India at the 5th World Junior Soft Tennis Championships in Jingshan, China. The selections were announced by Andhra Pradesh Soft Tennis Association General Secretary D Dilip Kumar, according to The Hans India on October 28, 2026, bringing two players from the state into India’s junior international contingent.
Sri Vaishali and Aaron Ronaldinho will carry Andhra Pradesh representation at the international tournament. The Hans India report said the selections had been welcomed by the state’s sporting community, with local sports figures expressing confidence that the players would perform well on the international stage.
Several state and association officials congratulated the selected athletes. Those named in the report included Andhra Pradesh Sports Authority chairman A Ravi Naidu, Andhra Pradesh Soft Tennis Association chairman Dr D Naveen Kumar, association president V Srinubabu and treasurer B Neeraja, along with representatives from district soft tennis associations.
The announcement is a significant milestone for the two players, as selection places them in a national team competing at a world-level junior championship. Their participation also gives Andhra Pradesh a presence in an international event designed to bring together junior athletes across multiple age groups.
The Amateur Soft Tennis Federation of India identifies the competition as the 5th World Junior Soft Tennis Championship 2026, scheduled in Jingshan, China. Its event notice lists the dates as October 26 to 31 and says the championship will feature Under-15, Under-18 and Under-21 boys’ and girls’ categories. The Hans India report gives the event dates as October 27 to 31, so the published schedule should be checked against the latest organiser information.
The federation’s notice also records that Indian team selection trials were planned in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, from September 12 to 14. The trials were intended to select the Indian contingent for the world junior championship. The event therefore follows a national selection process rather than being an open-entry competition for individual players.
Soft tennis is a racket sport related to lawn tennis, played with a softer rubber ball and governed internationally through its own competition structure. Junior championships provide athletes with experience against international opponents while they continue developing technique, match management and competitive consistency.
The congratulations from SAAP and the Andhra Pradesh Soft Tennis Association reflect the role played by state sports bodies and sport-specific associations in recognising athletes selected for national duty. Such recognition can help raise awareness of disciplines that receive less mainstream coverage than cricket or conventional tennis, while giving younger players visible examples of progression from local competition to international representation.
The two selections also underline the importance of district-level participation. Sri Vaishali’s Vijayawada connection and Aaron Ronaldinho’s Anantapur base place the achievement across two parts of Andhra Pradesh, rather than within a single city or training centre. The available report does not detail their individual past results, age categories or event entries, so those specifics should not be added without further confirmation.
The immediate focus will be on the players’ participation in Jingshan and their results in the relevant age-group events. Official draws, match schedules and results from the championship will provide the next confirmed details about their progress. Until those are released, the established news is their selection for India and the support expressed by Andhra Pradesh sports officials.
For aspiring soft tennis players in the state, the call-up offers a local example of how participation and performance can lead to a place in a national squad. The next measure of the campaign will be the performances in China, where Sri Vaishali and Aaron Ronaldinho will have the opportunity to test themselves against junior players from other countries.
