Niki Kaliyanda Poonacha (left) with his partner Pruchya Isaro

Indian tennis player Niki Kaliyanda Poonacha achieved a significant career milestone on Friday by winning the Asia-Pacific Wildcard Playoff alongside Thailand’s Pruchya Isaro, earning a main-draw wild card entry for the 2026 Australian Open men’s doubles.The Indo-Thai pair demonstrated consistent performance throughout the tournament, defeating Japanese duo Seita Kusuhara and Katsuki Nakagawa 6-4, 6-3 in the final to secure their spot at Melbourne Park.This victory marks a crucial breakthrough for the 30-year-old Indian player, who will make his Grand Slam main-draw debut after spending most of his career competing in ATP Challenger and ITF circuits.Poonacha reached his career-high doubles ranking of world No. 98 last year and has accumulated six Challenger doubles titles. The wildcard entry now provides him an opportunity to compete against top-ranked pairs at one of tennis’s major tournaments.This qualification strengthens India’s presence in Grand Slam doubles events, an area where the country has historically shown considerable success.
In the singles category of the regional play-off, Indian player Sumit Nagal participated but was eliminated in the quarterfinals of the 16-player competition.The Australian Open tournament is scheduled to begin on January 12 in Melbourne.