Sunitha Rao (born October 27, 1985) is an Indian-American former professional tennis player, who represented India in international tournaments.

[2] Rao also is the fourth female tennis player in history representing India to enter the top-200 world rankings, after Nirupama Sanjeev, Shikha Uberoi, and Sania Mirza.

[3] Rao played her first WTA Tour match at the 2002 Brasil Open, where she defeated Vanessa Henke in the first round.

Then she played at the Sunfeast Open where she beat Neha Uberoi in the first round before falling to Elena Likhovtseva.

She partnered with Sania Mirza, representing India in the women's doubles event at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.