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In keeping with the vision to support the Young India Tennis Brigade, upcoming players Manas Dhamne, Aryan Shah and Karan Singh have been handed over the Main Draw wildcards at the Maha Open ATP Challenger 100 Men's Tennis Championship organized by Maharashtra State Lawn tennis Association (MSLTA) in association with the Department of Sports and Youth Services, Government of Maharashtra, PCMC and PMC at the Mhalunge Balewadi Tennis Stadium.
The premier high-level ATP Challenger will see top tennis players from 28 countries in action at the Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex at Mhalunge Balewadi from February 16 to February 23, 2025. The Pune event is the third of a series of four ATP Challenger events being held in India. The previous tournaments were held in Chennai and Delhi, while the last event will be played in Bengaluru, as stated in a release from MSLTA. "Providing international competition of high quality to Indian players is one of the main reasons for us and the PMRDA getting involved and supporting this event. The MahaOpen Challenger is another feather in the cap of the Indian Tennis Calendar organised by MSLTA. We are thrilled to organise this huge international event which goes a long way in promoting the image of the Pune Metropolis Region universally," Prashant Sutar was quoted in a release from MSLTA as saying. Organizing the PMR Challenger event is a continuation of a grand vision of MSLTA for tennis development and promotion in Maharashtra. Especially following the successful completion of the L&T Mumbai Open WTA 125 K series," Sutar added. Sutar and Sunder Iyer, the organisers of the event, announced the main draw wildcards to 17-year-old Manas Dhamne, who is fresh off a USD 15000 ITF win at Monastir last week. Meanwhile, 19-year-old Aryan Shah, who has been performing well at ITF events held in the last year, and 21-year-old Karan Singh, who made his Davis Cup debut two weeks ago, were also announced as wildcards. "We are looking at the future of Indian Tennis and these are the players who will take the next steps with events like this. We made the right move with 15-year-old Maaya Rajeshwaran at the Mumbai Open last week, and we believe this week, too, might throw up surprises. We believe that by providing the right opportunities and the right moments, our players can move to the next level. We had this discussion in detail and feel this is the right way forward. We have also decided to award one wildcard in the qualifying to 16-year-old Arnav Paparkar", Iyer stated. He also said that it was a proud moment for Maharashtra to host another major tennis tournament this year. MSLTA hosted events worth over USD 4,25,000 (Rs 3.7 crores) which was the highest in the country and this was possible with the support of the Government of Maharashtra and their corporation. These events have helped our tennis players not only in Maharashtra but across India. The prize money for the event will be USD 130,000 (Rs.1.12 crores). The winner will receive 100 ATP ranking points and USD 17,650 (Rs.15.50 lakhs), and the runner-up 60 ATP points and USD 10,380 (Rs.9 lakhs). The first-round loser receives USD 1,270 (Rs.1.10 lakhs). The qualifiers also receive an incentive of USD 380 (Rs.33,000/-). The main draw consists of 32 players - 23 direct acceptances, 3 wild cards, and 6 qualifiers. Qualifying consists of 24 players with 4 wild cards. "On behalf of MSLTA and the Indian Tennis fraternity, we would like to thank PMRDA commissioner Shri Yogesh Mhase, PMC Commissioner Dr Rajendra Bhosale, PCMC Commissioner Shri Shekhar Singh, and the Commissioner of Sports Hiralal Sonawane for their Support to the event", Iyer added. Andrei Kornilov of Uzbekistan will be the ATP Supervisor for the event, while Leena Nageshkar will be the referee of the event, and Amit Deshpande will be the chief of officials. (ANI)
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