Malaika Rapolu (born April 18, 2003) is an American professional tennis player. She has career-high rankings of 336 in singles, achieved on 3 August 2026, and 658 in doubles, attained in February 2026.
Early life Rapolu was born in Cedar Park, Texas. She began playing tennis at the age of seven, coached by her father, Madhuker. She attended Round Rock High School and was later homeschooled. She is of Indian descent.
Career College In April 2020, Rapolu committed to play collegiate tennis for the Texas Longhorns. She played her final season in 2024.
Professional In October 2024, Rapolu won back-to-back W15 titles in Huamantla. The following month, she won the W40 Women's Pro Tennis Open in Austin as a wildcard entrant. With her title in Austin, she rose 245 places in the WTA rankings to a career-high of No. 564 on 18 November.
In February 2025, she made her WTA Tour debut as a wildcard at the ATX Open, but lost in the first round to Nuria Párrizas Díaz.
ITF Circuit finals Singles: 6 (4 titles, 2 runner-ups) LegendW50 tournaments (1–0)W35 tournaments (1–0)W15 tournaments (2–2)Finals by surfaceHard (4–2) ResultW–LDateTournamentTierSurfaceOpponentScoreWin 1–0 Oct 2024ITF Huamantla, MexicoW15 Hard Dasha Plekhanova 7–6(3), 7–5Win 2–0 Oct 2024ITF Huamantla, MexicoW15 Hard Yuliana Monroy 7–6(3), 6–2Win 3–0 Nov 2024ITF Austin, United StatesW50 Hard Karina Miller 6–4, 6–2Loss 3–1 Mar 2025ITF Trois-Rivières, CanadaW15 Hard (i) Emily Appleton 3–6, 6–3, 3–6Loss 3–2 Mar 2026ITF Monastir, TunisiaW15 Hard Alicia Dudeney 6–7(4), 6–7(6)Win 4–2 Jul 2026ITF Santa Fe, United StatesW35 Hard Hina Inoue 6–2, 6–0
Doubles: 5 (2 titles, 3 runner-ups) LegendW50 tournaments (0–1)W15 tournaments (2–2)Finals by surfaceHard (2–3) ResultW–LDateTournamentTierSurfacePartnerOpponentScoreLoss 0–1 Jun 2023ITF San Diego, USW15 Hard Anita Sahdiieva Kimmi Hance Tian Fangran 6–3, 1–6, [9–11]Loss 0–2 Jun 2023ITF San Diego, USW15 Hard Anita Sahdiieva Sara Daavettila Katherine Hui 6–7(4), 4–6Win 1–2 Jul 2024ITF Lakewood, USW15 Hard Anita Sahdiieva Carolyn Ansari Gabriella Broadfoot 6–4, 2–6, [10–8]Win 2–2 Oct 2024ITF Huamantla, MexicoW15 Hard Liisa Varul Claudia Sofía Martínez Fernanda Navarro 7–6(4), 4–6, [10–7]Loss 2–3 Sep 2025ITF Évora, PortugalW50 Hard Gabriela Knutson Catherine Harrison Ashley Lahey 1–6, 6–1, [8–10]
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