Naiktha Bains

Bains emigrated with her Indian-born father Gurnake^[3] from Britain to Brisbane aged eight^[4] and holds dual British-Australian citizenship.^[1]

Naiktha Bains was born in Leeds, United Kingdom, and now splits her time between Brisbane and her hometown. She trains in Brisbane and at the National Tennis Centre. Her family moved to Australia when she was eight years old due to her father Gurnake's work. Her mother, Harjit, and older brother, Gurpal — a music producer — remain a close part of her life. Naiktha enjoys watching football with her dad and is a passionate Leeds United supporter. She also loves cars, cooking with her mum, and spending time with family and friends. A standout moment in her tennis career so far was reaching the quarter-finals in the women’s doubles at Wimbledon 2023 alongside Maia Lumsden.^[5]

Bains commenced the year with a ranking of 1041. She was awarded a wildcard into qualifying at the Hobart International where she made it through the first two rounds defeating Maria Elena Camerin^[6] and Teliana Pereira,^[7] before losing to eventual tournament champion, Garbiñe Muguruza, in the final round.

At the qualifying for the Australian Open, Bains lost to Andrea Hlaváčková in straight sets but together with Olivia Tjandramulia she was awarded a wildcard into the doubles main draw where they faced 14th-seeded team of Julia Görges and Barbora Záhlavová-Strýcová, also losing in straight sets.

In March, Bains was awarded a wildcard into the qualifying of the Miami Open, for just her third appearance at WTA Tour-level.^[8] She lost in round one to Virginie Razzano. Her next match was in September in Vegas, before playing four more ITF tournaments across Australia. She ended the year with a ranking of 713.

Her season began with a wildcard entry into the qualifying rounds of the Brisbane International, Hobart International and Australian Open. She lost in round one in all three events. The rest of the year, Bains competed on the ITF Circuit, with limited success. She ended the year with a ranking of 630.

Bains commenced the season with a wildcard into the qualifying rounds of the Brisbane International, Hobart International and Australian Open. She lost in the first round in all three events. Through February and March, she competed on the ITF Circuit across Australia, before heading to Croatia and Spain where she made three consecutive quarterfinals. From June to October, she competed on the ITF Circuit across Europe, Asia and Australia. Her best result was reaching the quarterfinal of the Bendigo International. Bains finished 2016 season ranked world No. 452.

Thanks to a wildcard, she entered the qualifying of the WTA 500 Brisbane International where she lost in the first round to Anastasia Rodionova.

At Wimbledon, Bains partnered with Maia Lumsden, and the wildcard players became the first British pair to reach the quarterfinals in 40 years.^[9][10]