Born on March 23, 2000, 25-year old Radhika Yadav was among India’s rising tennis player. She had achieved remarkable progress in national and international tours. She even achieved a career-high ranking of 113 in the doubles category of the International Tennis Federation (ITF) at her best. In Haryana, she was ranked fifth in the women’s doubles category. Radhika was shot dead by her father at their home in Gurugram Sector-57 on Thursday morning. Deepak Yadav who is accused fired five bullets at his daughter Radhika Yadav, three of which hit her while she was in the kitchen.
Radhika Yadav Was A Rising Tennis Champion
Radhika also left her mark and made her presence felt in the All India Tennis Association (AITA) tournaments. She reached her best national ranking of 75 in the Under-18 category in January 2018 and was among the Top 100 for a record 11 weeks. Her highest rankings in the women’s circuit were 35 in singles and 53 in doubles, a true reflection of her consistency and improvement.
Placed in the same category as emerging stars like Shrivalli Bhamidipaty, Poorvi Bhatt, and Thaniya Sarai Gogulamanda, Radhika was seen in large circles as one of India’s next crop of top players. She was also the owner and head coach of a successful tennis academy, which apparently was a source of conflict at home.
Here’s Why Radhika Yadav’s Father Mercilessly Killed Her
As per sources quoted by PTI, her father was often mocked by relatives and friends for being financially dependent on Radhika’s earnings from the academy. The belittling is said to have added fuel to his increasing frustration. Also, her active presence on social media and especially her inclination towards creating Instagram reels became another point of contention. One such reel is said to have triggered an argument after her father told her to delete it.
#WATCH | Gurugram Tennis Player murder case | Sandeep Kumar, PRO, Gurugram Police says, "…Upon receiving the information, Police reached the hospital and found out that this was a 25-year-old girl named Radhika, a resident of Sector 57. Police reached her home later on and… pic.twitter.com/CKNHXNYnof
— ANI (@ANI) July 11, 2025
According to the police, Radhika’s father Deepak Yadav confessed that he struggled from depression for the last 15 days which was aggravated by social humiliation over his daughter’s growing career. In the FIR accessed by Hindustan Times, Deepak mentioned that his “self-respect” was deeply hurt and he couldn’t no longer bear the humiliation.
