Fact-Checking 'How Old Is Niki': Separating Poonacha, Lauda, and Nicki Minaj

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Poonacha’s path to the grandest stages of tennis highlights the punishing economics of the sport's lower tiers. He made his official professional tennis debut on the ITF Pro Circuit in 2013 as an unseeded teenager. For years, he operated without major corporate sponsorships, relying on domestic national championships in India to stay financially solvent.

In 2019, Poonacha won the Fenesta Open National Tennis Championship singles title, a hard-court endurance test in New Delhi. That victory earned him roughly $4,000 in prize money, enough to cover flights and lodging for a handful of foreign tournaments. When the global sports calendar paused in 2020, many athletes his age retired to take up coaching. Poonacha chose to reorganize his game around doubles mechanics instead.

The strategic shift paid off. By pairing his booming first serve and quick reactions at the net with partners like Rithvik Choudary Bollipalli, Poonacha began capturing ATP Challenger titles across 2023 and 2024. Entering top-tier tour events at 30 validates a decade of persistence on the outer courts of professional athletics.