TNTA has high hopes for tennis in the city

So this year, too, tennis aficionados were expecting an Indian would win the singles event. “We would have been happy had an Indian won. But that is the beauty of the tour. In tennis, you never know who will beat you on a given day. The tour is very tough. One needs patience and a ‘never say die’ attitude to play constantly and improve the skill sets. Tennis is an individual sport and very tough one, not that easy as some may think,” opined Hiten Joshi who is also a noted coach, who once used to travel with Ramkumar.

Still some followers of the game question whether these tournaments benefit the Indian players. “It is up to the players to make use of the opportunity. Our (TNTA’s) duty is to provide a platform for players to showcase their skills on a big stage. These tournaments will certainly inspire players. On our part, the TNTA has an ambitious Player Development programme called The Next Level. We provide financial and technical support to top Tamil Nadu juniors to enable them to play to their potential and achieve tennis excellence. Rethin Pranav, a 17-year-old boy from Karur, has been part of the programme. He became the National Men’s Singles Champion and was one of two Indians to participate in the Australian Open Junior Singles in 2025,” said Joshi. Rethin missed the event due to injury.

Every year since 1996, barring the COVID years, a major international event is conducted at the SDAT Tennis Stadium. Over the last three decades, the eventual winners as well as a host of Indian players who participated in the Chennai event, have gone on to perform exceptionally well during the year, achieving their respective career milestones for the first time ever. Leander reached the finals in the Challenger event in 1996. Later, Leander and Mahesh Bhupathi won the first-ever ATP 250 doubles title in 1997. Rohan, Somdev, and Ramkumar, too, played exceptionally in the ATP 250 events in Chennai.