Three cities get ATP events
THE cities of Chennai, Bangalore and Pune will host back-to-back ATP 100 Challenger events early next year, the AITA announced last Saturday (29).
The All India Tennis Association (AITA) did not specify the dates but it is understood that all the tournaments will be held in February after the Indian team’s Davis Cup World Group Play-off tie.
“The dates have not been sanctioned as yet by the ATP to us. We will know soon. This time, Uttar Pradesh also wanted a Challenger in Lucknow but we decided Bangalore will host one of the events,” the AITA secretary-general, Anil Dhupar, said.
Chennai will host the first event and the second tournament will be held in Bangalore. The final event will be held in Pune, which has hosted ATP50 events in the past.
The fourth Challenger, an ATP 50 event, is being contemplated in Nagpur, provided ATP gives a green signal, officials said.
“Pune will be back on Challenger calender after a gap of three years. We are also making efforts to put a challenger in Nagpur but the venue needs to be approved by ATP. However we are hopeful that this will happen,” said Sunder Iyer, who is the secretary of Maharashtra state’s tennis association.
The AITA will organise a total of 21 men’s and women’s ITF [International Tennis Federation] and ATP Challenger events, and 11 ITF Juniors international events between November 2022 and March 2023.
This will include eight ITF men’s events, four ATP Challengers and nine ITF Women’s events.
“We are sure that the Indian players will tremendously benefit from these events and our players will make maximum use of the opportunities that AITA has created,” said Dhupar. “The two years of Covid took its toll on tournaments in India, but the record events will help our players bounce back, improve their international rankings, and prove their mettle.”
The Tata Open Maharashtra, the country’s premier and lone ATP 250 event, will be held from December 31 as it returns to its original start-of-theseason slot when it was known as Chennai Open.