Malaika Rapolu

Malaika Rapolu

Rapolu at the 2026 Cary Tennis Classic
Country (sports)	United States
Born	(2003-04-18) April 18, 2003 Cedar Park, Texas, US
Plays	Right-handed (two-handed backhand)
College	Texas
Prize money	$46,318
Singles
Career record	92–61
Career titles	3 ITF
Highest ranking	No. 389 (October 13, 2025)
Current ranking	No. 488 (May 25, 2026)
Doubles
Career record	30–29
Career titles	2 ITF
Highest ranking	No. 658 (February 2, 2026)
Current ranking	No. 714 (May 25, 2026)
Last updated on: May 28, 2026.

Malaika Rapolu (born April 18, 2003) is an American professional tennis player. She has career-high rankings of 389 in singles, achieved on 13 October 2025, 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.

Career

Collegiate career

In April 2020, Rapolu committed to play collegiate tennis for the Texas Longhorns. She played her final season in 2024.

Professional career

In October 2024, Rapolu won back-to-back $15k titles in Huamantla. The following month, she won the $40k H-E-B Women's Pro Tennis Open in Austin as a wildcard. 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)

Legend W50 tournaments (1–0) W35 tournaments (1–0) W15 tournaments (2–2)

Finals by surface Hard (4–2)

Result	W–L	Date	Tournament	Tier	Surface	Opponent	Score
Win	1–0	Oct 2024	ITF Huamantla, Mexico	W15	Hard	Dasha Plekhanova	7–6(3), 7–5
Win	2–0	Oct 2024	ITF Huamantla, Mexico	W15	Hard	Yuliana Monroy	7–6(3), 6–2
Win	3–0	Nov 2024	ITF Austin, United States	W50	Hard	Karina Miller	6–4, 6–2
Loss	3–1	Mar 2025	ITF Trois-Rivières, Canada	W15	Hard (i)	Emily Appleton	3–6, 6–3, 3–6
Loss	3–2	Mar 2026	ITF Monastir, Tunisia	W15	Hard	Alicia Dudeney	6–7(4), 6–7(6)
Win	4–2	Jul 2026	ITF Santa Fe, United States	W35	Hard	Hina Inoue	6–2, 6–0

Doubles: 5 (2 titles, 3 runner-ups)

Legend W50 tournaments (0–1) W15 tournaments (2–2)

Finals by surface Hard (2–3)

Result	W–L	Date	Tournament	Tier	Surface	Partner	Opponent	Score
Loss	0–1	Jun 2023	ITF San Diego, US	W15	Hard	Anita Sahdiieva	Kimmi Hance Tian Fangran	6–3, 1–6, [9–11]
Loss	0–2	Jun 2023	ITF San Diego, US	W15	Hard	Anita Sahdiieva	Sara Daavettila Katherine Hui	6–7(4), 4–6
Win	1–2	Jul 2024	ITF Lakewood, US	W15	Hard	Anita Sahdiieva	Carolyn Ansari Gabriella Broadfoot	6–4, 2–6, [10–8]
Win	2–2	Oct 2024	ITF Huamantla, Mexico	W15	Hard	Liisa Varul	Claudia Sofía Martínez Solís María Fernanda Navarro Oliva	7–6(4), 4–6, [10–7]
Loss	2–3	Sep 2025	ITF Évora, Portugal	W50	Hard	Gabriela Knutson	Catherine Harrison Ashley Lahey	1–6, 6–1, [8–10]

External links

• Malaika Rapolu at the Women's Tennis Association
• Malaika Rapolu at the International Tennis Federation
• Malaika Rapolu at ESPN.com