Unseeded Indians Saketh and Niki win ATP Challenger doubles title in Bengaluru

Saketh Myneni, a three-time Asian Games medallist, and his partner Niki Kaliyanda Poonacha produced a dominant display to win the Karnataka Open 2026 doubles tennis title in Bengaluru on Saturday.

Competing in the final of the hardcourt ATP Challenger 50 tournament, the unseeded Indian players defeated Petr Bar Biryukov and Kazakhstan’s Grigoriy Lomakin 6-2, 6-3 in under 53 minutes to win the title.

Poonacha and Myneni seized control midway through the opening set, breaking serve in the sixth game before striking again in the eighth to wrap it up in just 24 minutes.

The second set saw both pairs holding serve through the early exchanges. The decisive moment came in the eighth game when the Indians earned the crucial break before serving out the match.

21st ATP doubles  crown for Saketh

The title was the 21st ATP Challenger doubles crown for Saketh Myneni and the ninth of Niki Poonacha’s career. It was also the first Challenger title the two have won together.

Saketh Myneni, an Asian Games mixed doubles tennis champion with Sania Mirza in 2014, last won an ATP Challenger doubles title in November 2024 with Lebanon’s Benjamin Hassan in Yokohama, Japan.

Their win on Saturday capped an impressive run at the Karnataka Open in which they did not drop a set. Poonacha and Myneni began their campaign by defeating fourth seeds Kokoro Isomura and Ryuki Matsuda of Japan in the opening round. They then beat Indian wildcards Sidharth Rawat and Manish Sureshkumar in the quarterfinals.

In the semifinals, the unseeded pair stunned top seeds Prajwal Dev and Nitin Kumar Sinha 7-5, 6-1 to book their place in the final.

The singles final will be played between top seed Keegan Smith of the USA and Australia’s fourth seed Philip Sekulic.  The 19-year-old Kriish Tyagi made it to the semifinals but was beaten by Philip Sekulic in straight sets.