For a city that considers itself the soul of the sport in the country, five and a half years is a long time without big-ticket tennis. The Tamil Nadu capital saw its last Tour-level event in 2017 – the ATP Chennai Open – a golden period of 21 straight years of high-quality action.
This drought is set to end when the WTA Chennai Open begins at the SDAT Tennis Stadium on Monday.
Vijay Amritraj, Indian tennis legend and president of the Tamil Nadu Tennis Association, said, “It was important to have the buzz in town again.” “It was important that we showed the girls that we care about them too. To give them a chance to be better. ,
But this tournament is a disappointing time for Indian tennis. Even though many non-cricketing sports heroes of color are beginning to emerge, tennis has not progressed.
There is no Indian singles player – male or female – ranked in the world’s top-200. Among women, Sania Mirza remains the last player to reach the top-100, a feat achieved more than a decade and a half ago.
Sania has performed brilliantly in doubles since then, but with her retirement, and no high-quality pecking order at the bottom, even participation in top-tier tournaments will start to look like success.
The hunt for figureheads is not expected to end in Chennai, but it would have been nice if the tournament could spark interest among young girls.
Extraordinary
“WTA Tour-level tennis is excellent,” said Amritraj. “These events will teach you what it takes to stay there, like how to get stronger in the third set. The ball-striking, the strategies involved, the mental IQ are all high standards.”
One player who fits this bill – in addition to top seed Alison Riske – is Canadian Eugene Bouchard. The 28-year-old is uncontrollable after a string of injuries and needs a wild card to compete, but he is a former Wimbledon finalist (2014) and a top-five player.
Karman Thandi, one of the two Indians in the main draw, practiced with Bouchard on Saturday. Her opening round bout against France’s Chloe Paquet is sure to take a lesson.
Another Indian player Ankita Raina has to open hard against Tatjana Maria of Germany. The 35-year-old mother of two is an inspirational figure who has put up a stellar performance in the Wimbledon semi-finals.
Ankita said, ‘I will try to take full advantage of the opportunity. “We want such events at home. It will be a great experience. These are the players who play the main draw in a Slam. That’s where you want to be.”
Whether they are Indians or not will become clear during the week.