19 year old Sai Nikitha - a rising tennis star was ranked among India 's top 20 in 2016. Besides winning many titles to her credit and participating in various tennis tournaments, she is also a good artist. This multi-talented city girl is from Loyolo Academy pursuing her BBA second year. Injury makes the sweetest comeback they say, similar is the story of Nikitha; she never gave up but chose to combat her injuries, bounced back and is paving way to reach the pinnacle of her career.  

Sai Nikitha started playing tennis 6 years ago, she found her niche when she was 12 years old. She has participated in many inter-school and inter- college tennis events that marked the beginning of her tennis career. She was in the 10th standard when she bagged the bronze medal for AP in All India Inter-school games followed by silver medal in PYKA tournament which was held in 2014.  

In 2015 she played under 18 and was the winner in many talent series games. She started playing under the women category in 2016, she was the winner at AITA - tournament held in Karnal and runner up at AITA - tournament that was held in Bangalore. After winning few tournaments she had picked up the momentum and was ranked among the top 20. The Bangalore tournament changed Nikitha's career, she had a severe shoulder injury which forced her to withdraw from ITA and AITA games. "My shoulder injury was something that was holding me back; tennis for me is not just a hobby but my passion, though I wasn't advised to resume tennis, I couldn't give up and I started off again with playing inter university games," recalled the 19 year old. 

Despite a very serious shoulder injury, she bounced back and started playing inter university tournaments, representing Osmania University. In 2015 she had won silver medal in National Inter-University and a bronze medal in 2016.  

She was coached by Mr. Neelakanteshwar Rao for 3 years in the initial stage of her career. He played a major role in teaching her strong basics and game techniques. She is currently being trained by Suresh Krishna - Suresh Krishna Tennis Academy. "I have been trained by Suresh Sir for more than 2 years now, he helped me deal with my flaws, I improved my speed and gaming techniques as well. He motivates me a lot and that keeps me mentally strong," says Nikitha.  

"My parents CH. Anand Kumar and CH. Arun Jyothi have been my biggest support throughout my journey, they kept me motivated all through and taught me how to accept failures and set backs," says Nikitha. As of now her parents have been handling all the financial issues and she is in search for sponsors so that she can take part in national and international tournaments as well. "I am looking for sponsors to proceed further in my career and to make the best use of opportunities that come my way," said the tennis player.