Tata Open Maharashtra organisers confident of keeping event in Pune for next five years

The organisers of Tata Open Maharashtra on Friday said that they are confident of keeping South Asia's only ATP 250 event in Pune for the next five years.

India's biggest tennis tournament is being conducted by the Maharashtra State Lawn Tennis Association (MSLTA) in association with the state government for the fifth year in Pune with the initial five-year hosting contract ending this year.

"The Government of Maharashtra is committed to hosting such big tournaments in the state because Maharashtra has a legacy of organising such events. They have been supporting this tournament fully so we are strong contenders to continue having this tournament for the next five years,"Tournament Director Prashant Sutar, who is also the Chairman of MSLTA, said.

"We also had an internal discussion with the concerned heads and we will go all out. We will also have a discussion with IMG about this as they are also a key stakeholder and understand what they have to say.

"We will need to have Reliance and IMG on the same page," he added. The tournament is owned by IMG and managed by RISE Worldwide. Sutar further said that the organisers have been making efforts to get players of the stature of Novak Djokovic for future editions.