Tennis: Bengaluru Open to be played from February 10

The Bengaluru Open, which is Asia’s biggest Challenger event, will return for its third edition on February 10 at the Karnataka State Lawn Tennis Association. Forty-eight singles and 16 pairs of doubles players from about 25 countries will participate.

The Bengaluru leg will follow the Australian Open and the ATP Tour at Pune, which means some of the higher-ranked players will be seen in the competition.

The Bengaluru Open, with prize money of US$ 162,500 is the richest on the ATP Challenger circuit across the globe.

“The Bengaluru Open is now the biggest event on the ATP Challenger circuit in the Asian region and it was a proud moment for all of us when the winners of the previous editions played at the main draw of the US Open against legends like Roger Federer and Daniil Medvedev,” Priyank Kharge, chairman of the organising committee was quoted as saying by The Economic Times.

“This shows we have enough talent that can be nurtured through tournaments like Bengaluru Open. Our goal is to convert Bengaluru Open to a permanent event on the ATP World Tour. We would love to see the big stars of tennis come and compete in Bengaluru and enjoy the city’s spirit and the cosmopolitan nature,” Kharge added.

The event is a great platform for young Indian players to

compete against quality opponents and improve their ATP rankings.

The Bengaluru Open has been held in November for the last two years but was pushed to early 2020 as a lead-up to the Tata Open Maharashtra in Pune.