Kazakhstan's Kulambayeva clinches doubles trophy in Nagpur
Kazakh tennis player Zhibek Kulambayeva triumphantly concluded her doubles performance at the ITF W15 Nagpur Tournament 2026 in India, Qazinform News Agency reports, citing the Kazakhstan Tennis Federation.
In the final match, Zhibek Kulambayeva, paired with Russian Ekaterina Yashina, defeated the duo of Elina Nepliy and Ksenia Laskutova.
The match for the championship trophy was a tough one. After losing the first set, Kulambayeva and Yashina managed to turn the tide in the second set and secured victory in a tense super tiebreak. The final score was 5-7, 6-4, 10-6. It is worth noting that this title marks the Kazakh player’s first of the current season following her recovery from a previous injury.
She also continues to compete for the main trophy in the singles draw. In the semifinal match, Zhibek Kulambayeva (No. 419 in the WTA rankings) confidently defeated local player Zeel Desai (No. 583 WTA).
Now, in the final for her second title in Nagpur, the Kazakhstani will face another Indian opponent, Sonal Patil (WTA No. 1159).
Additionally, on April 10–11, 2026, Kulambayeva will represent Kazakhstan in the qualifiers of the Billie Jean King Cup, the world's largest annual women's international team competition, where she will play against the Canadian team. The matches will take place in Astana.