India finish Fourth at World Deaf Team Tennis Championships 2026 in France

Strong run ends with 2-1 loss to USA in bronze medal playoff

The Indian men’s team concluded an impressive campaign at the World Deaf Team Tennis Championships 2026 in Grenoble, France, with a fourth-place finish after narrowly missing out on the bronze medal following a hard-fought 2-1 defeat to the United States in the third-place playoff.

India enjoyed an outstanding run through the group stage, finishing second in Group A behind France. The team recorded convincing victories over Chinese Taipei (3-0), Japan (2-1) and Great Britain (2-1), while suffering only one close defeat to eventual finalists France (2-1). With three wins from four ties, India secured a semifinal berth ahead of Great Britain on the head-to-head rule after both teams finished level on points.

Leading India’s campaign was Prithvi Sekhar, who delivered crucial singles victories throughout the tournament, while Aaryan Humaney and Sivaji Pilla made valuable contributions in both singles and doubles. The team’s consistency across all ties reflected the growing standard of deaf tennis in India.

In the semifinals, India faced a formidable German side, the unbeaten winners of Group B. Despite Prithvi Sekhar opening the tie with an emphatic 6-2, 6-3 singles victory, the Germans fought back to claim the second singles and edged the deciding doubles encounter to register a 2-1 win and advance to the final.

India then met the United States in the bronze medal playoff. The team once again battled with determination but fell 2-1 in another closely contested tie, finishing just outside the medals.

Germany went on to defeat France 2-1 in the championship final to lift the Dresse Cup, while the USA secured the bronze medal.

Although the podium narrowly eluded India, the fourth-place finish represents one of the country’s strongest performances on the world stage in deaf team tennis. The campaign showcased resilience, depth and fighting spirit, with the players competing strongly against some of the world’s leading deaf tennis playing nations.