Indian tennis player Radhika Yadav was killed by her father in their home in the city of Gurgaon, Indian media outlets reported on Friday. The suspect reportedly shot the 25-year-old athlete three times while she was cooking in her kitchen on Thursday morning.

Gurgaon is a finance and technology hub located near India's capital, New Delhi, in the northern state of Haryana.

Yadav was taken to a nearby hospital by other family members, but she did not survive. The authorities arrested her father, Deepak Yadav, and seized his licensed firearm. He then confessed to the police, according to Indian daily Hindustan Times.

According to the International Tennis Federation, Yadav has not played in a ranked match since March 2024.

While she owned her own tennis academy, she has also never won a title in her professional career. Police sources cited by the India Today magazine said the woman also aspired to become a social media influencer after suffering an injury two years ago.  

What did Yadav's father say?

Deepak Yadav, 49, was reportedly financially dependent on his daughter. He told the police that he was bothered by criticism from relatives and acquaintances from his native village Wazirabad near Gurgaon.

"When I used to go to Wazirabad village to get milk, people used to taunt me, saying that I live off my daughter's earnings. This troubled me a lot. Some people even questioned my daughter's character. I told my daughter to close her tennis academy, but she refused," he told the police, according to news channel NDTV.

Edited by: Dmytro Hubenko