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Tennis academy dispute, Insta reel: What led to Radhika Yadav's murder by father

Radhika Yadav's father, Deppak Yadav, who allegedly fired three shots, has been arrested following statements by other family members.

Updated on: Jul 11, 2025, 08:44:50 IST
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Radhika Yadav, a 25-year-old state-level tennis player, was shot dead, allegedly by her father at their Gurugram residence on Thursday.

The incident took place on the first floor Radhika Yadav's family residence located in Sector 57 of Gurugram. (HT Photo)
The incident took place on the first floor Radhika Yadav's family residence located in Sector 57 of Gurugram. (HT Photo)

Her father, Deppak Yadav, who allegedly fired three shots, has been arrested following statements by other family members. The incident happened at 10:30 am on Thursday in the kitchen of the family’s Sector 57 residence.

What led to tennis player Radhika Yadav’s murder in Gurugram?

According to the investigators, Radhika Yadav's father, 51-year-old Deepak Yadav, was distressed over the tennis player running an academy. Many people in the family’s native Wazirabad allegedly mocked him for living off his daughter’s income from her tennis academy, which fueled his anger. He wanted her to shut down the tennis academy, which she refused to do.

“He wanted her to shut down the academy, but she refused. He finally shot her dead over the same dispute,” assistant commissioner of police Yashwant Yadav said.

According to police, the father claimed he had been battling depression for the past 15 days due to social criticism about his daughter’s career and earnings. In his confession, he reportedly said he could no longer bear the humiliation which had hurt his ‘pride’, as mentioned in the FIR, which was accessed by HT.

Her mother, Manju Yadav, as per the FIR, refused to give her statement to the police, citing that she was suffering from fever and had not seen anything.

An FIR has been filed at Gurugram’s Sector 56 police station. The cops are also investigating other angles in the case, including the father's objection to a possible affair or a social media reel on Instagram.

Radhika was a bright and promising athlete. A graduate from Scottish High International School, she had cleared her Class 12 exams in commerce in 2018 and had taken to tennis early in her school years. She had recently suffered a shoulder injury and was undergoing physiotherapy, but that hadn’t deterred her from running her academy or continuing to inspire young players.

Police officers said Radhika was known to be full of life and would often shoot celebratory reels dancing with her father after winning trophies.

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