From Tennis Court to Tragedy: Rising Star Radhika Yadav Shot Dead by Her Father

By Sabyasachi Bhattacherjee 

Radhika Yadav was a rising star in the tennis world. The 25-year-old from Haryana had become a symbol of pride for the country. Her doubles rank was 113 in the International Tennis Federation (ITF) rankings, and she was in the top five among women players from Haryana. Not only as a player, she was also a coach—she used to open her own tennis academy and train the new generation. Yet such a talented and hardworking player had to brutally lose his life to a bullet fired by his own father.

The incident took place on Thursday morning, July 10, 2025, in a posh residence in Sector 57, Gurgaon. According to the initial police report, around 11 am, when Radhika was in the kitchen, her father Deepak Yadav, a former security in-charge by profession, suddenly took out his licensed revolver and fired five shots in quick succession. Three bullets hit Radhika, causing her to fall bleeding on the spot. She was rushed to a local hospital, but the doctors declared her brought dead.

The incident has left the entire country in mourning. The tennis fraternity and sports lovers are deeply shocked by her untimely death. Many initially assumed that there might have been a dispute between the father and daughter over Radhika's social media activities, especially her Instagram reels. But the investigation by the Gurgaon police revealed a shocking fact - Radhika's independence, building her own career, and taking financial responsibility on her own shoulders had become unbearable for her father.

According to police sources, Deepak Yadav had been depressed for a long time. He became mentally agitated at the thought that his wife and daughter were both financially independent and that control of the family was slipping away from him. Especially since Radhika was earning her own money and started making her own decisions, it started to feel like an insult to her father. At one point, this tension reached its peak and this brutal murder took place.

Deepak Yadav surrendered to the police after the incident. A case of murder has been registered against him and he was sent to one-day police custody when he was produced in court. Police said that three bullet marks were found on Radhika's body, and that apart from Radhika, her mother and brother were also present at the house at the time of the incident.

This incident left a deep scar in the history of Indian sports. A female athlete, who was gaining recognition and respect for her abilities, had to give up her life in this way at the hands of her own family—it was not just a family tragedy, it was a reflection of societal failure. 

Radhika's death has raised several questions - is women's freedom still safe in the family? Why could a father not tolerate his daughter's success? This incident reminds us that no matter how successful women are in the outside world, their safety is still not guaranteed at home. The deeply rooted patriarchal attitudes in society still threaten women's advancement.

Radhika Yadav is no more today. But her story, her dreams, her struggle will force us to rethink the position of women in our society. If we truly want to honor her, we need to build a society where no woman has to die like this in her own home.