If Odisha has hockey, Karnataka has been upping its recreation to earn the moniker of the tennis hub of India, amid competitors from Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra. A month after internet hosting the $ 100,000 ITF Ladies’s Circuit Match in Bengaluru, the Karnataka State Garden Tennis Affiliation (KSLTA) staged India’s largest worldwide tennis occasion. The Bengaluru Open has been a well-recognized fixture on ATP Challenger tour for the previous decade, however in 2025, it earned a promotion. Having began out as a $50,000 match again in 2015, the match grew right into a Challenger 125 occasion, handing out $200,000 to the winner. As well as, Bengaluru Open additionally witnessed a rise in assist from the company, with the line-up that includes 22 sponsors and 12 companions.
Sunil Yajaman, Bengaluru Open match director and joint-secretary of KSLTA
As Bengaluru Open ended a busy week, with American tennis participant Brandon Holt clinching his second ATP Challenger singles title of the season after a 6-3 6-3 win over Japan’s Shintaro Mochizuki within the last on Sunday, Sunil Yajaman, match director and joint-secretary of KSLTA, opened on the promotion, Karnataka tennis’ groundwork and the potential of India witnessing the return of ATP 250 occasion with Bengaluru because the host.
Listed below are excerpts…Q) Firstly, discuss Bengaluru Open getting upgraded to an Challenger 125 occasion.
I feel it was a aware effort. We began off as a $50,000 match means again in 2015 and consciously we have been engaged on making an attempt to improve this occasion in order that it offers a greater alternative for our personal gamers. I imply our principal goal is Indian gamers. So I feel we’ve labored on that and we’ve been partaking with the corporates for partnerships and slowly we’ve grown to a $200,000 match. It is a 125 occasion now. So I feel it is because of our staff at KSLTA and the fantastic management which helped us get somewhat extra sponsors and to improve this occasion.
Q) What’s it that KSLTA is doing completely different in comparison with different Challenger occasions within the Indian circuit?
I am positive they’re all doing a beautiful job. Conducting a Challenger itself is an enormous deal. So hats off to Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra, and Delhi joined the bandwagon final 12 months. So I feel it has been wonderful effort from all these 4 state associations. For us, it has been nothing completely different. The way in which it is organised is perhaps completely different elsewhere, however the primary essence of getting a Challenger right here in India and that to 4 in a row, I feel it is an incredible effort by all these 4 associations and, and a fantastic factor for Indian tennis.
Q) Three areas in India have put their finest foot ahead in making a tennis hub. Karnataka is certainly one of them. May you discuss that
I feel that is been the tradition of KSLTA for fairly a while. We’re a kind of few, in all probability the one state affiliation which has 12 district headquarters with tennis advanced which is sweet sufficient to carry even a challenger stage match. We have now been consciously taking tennis to tier two and tier three cities as a result of you do not know the place a champion might emerge. We have to go there, encourage and inspire the kids to play tennis. There may be a whole lot of expertise and starvation in these smaller locations.That is one factor that we have been doing consciously.
The opposite factor is that we’ve been organising fairly a number of ITF tournaments together with this ATP. For the primary time we had the largest ITF occasion – ITF Ladies’s $100,000 match one month in the past and this was once more to offer a possibility for our gamers as a result of as of now, none of our gamers can go and play a $100,000 match ladies’s match outdoors India. So as a result of we had been ready to do that 12 months, we gave that chance for our gamers who got here and performed and a few of them did fairly effectively and picked up fairly a number of factors. They really performed towards the most effective gamers as a result of ITF 100 will get among the finest gamers within the high 100. We had some gamers and it gave them a possibility to play towards them and check their very own abilities and what they should work on. So I feel we, final 12 months we did about 8-9 weeks of ITF tournaments in Karnataka and I feel that that supplied a whole lot of alternative for our Indian gamers to play at dwelling as a result of in any other case it is so costly for them to journey out of India for enjoying one or two weeks of ITF World Tennis Tour.
Maharashtra has additionally achieved one thing actually comparable. Then Tamil Nadu had about 2-3 weeks. Therefore, India was capable of host about 19-20 weeks of ITF World Tennis Tour. It is an incredible factor and we want to host extra ITF’s in Karnataka, give extra alternative as a result of it’s excessive time that the junior gamers, once they’re in 16, 17, ought to begin taking part in a whole lot of these ITFs as a result of it helps them enhance quicker and offers them a actuality examine of what they should work on once they have to maneuver ahead. So I feel that publicity ought to begin early.
Q) What about on the grassroot stage?
These 11-12 district associations have a training scheme happening there, with the gamers and coaches. A whole lot of youngsters are taking part in and that itself is an enormous factor as a result of in any other case many of those youngsters would not have in all probability even picked up tennis. So now there’s a possibility for them to play tennis there and get coached. We have now some certified coaches in all these locations. The opposite subsequent plan that we’ve is to start out conducting regional camps. We’re having a regional heart someplace in north of Karnataka, in one of many backward districts, in order that the children from that area can come below one umbrella and prepare in that regional heart.
Q) Coming again to Bengaluru Open. Does KSLTA have a roadmap for Bengaluru Open to upgraded to an ATP 250 occasion?
We might not draw back from having the ATP 250 each time there’s a possibility. However the ATP 250 is just not out there very simply. India had it in Chennai for 21 years ,then Maharashtra had it for about 3-4 years and however finally it moved out as a result of these are owned and there is a restricted variety of tournaments they usually’re all owned by non-public promoters who preserve shifting to wherever they get a greater deal. However sure, if there’s a possibility, why not. Bengaluru is a deserves to have a annual ATP tour occasion.
Q) May you additionally discuss Bengaluru Open witnessing a surge in variety of sponsors
I feel Bengaluru Open has now develop into a model. A whole lot of corporates and communities within the metropolis are conscious of Bengaluru Open they usually all look ahead for it. And we have had some situations the place corporates themselves have come ahead and stated that we want to companion and that is an enormous achievement for us. One factor is our Karnataka authorities may be very supportive. However I feel we have been doing a fairly good job in bringing within the sponsors. A few of them have stayed on with us for all of the 9 editions, and a few of them have been right here for like final 3-4 years. After which even this 12 months there are a few new sponsors. So I feel that is one thing that we preserve speaking to sponsors, we preserve inviting them to come back and watch they usually additionally know and see what’s the good factor occurring. So I feel there’s undoubtedly an curiosity amongst the company neighborhood and in the direction of Bangalore Open.
Q) Did Bengaluru Open miss the highest stars this time, with no Sumit Nagal or Rithvik Bollipalli?
We had spoken to Nagal and he had taken knowledgeable resolution on eager to go play in South America on clay court docket. We respect that. However yeah, I imply these had been the tournaments. Nagal gained his first professional match right here in Bengaluru in 2017, then he is went on to win Chennai two years in the past. So I feel these tournaments have achieved good for him. However clearly he in all probability needed to play on clay and . I imply we should always respect that. As for Sriram Balaji or Bollipalli, I feel their rating may be very excessive. It does not make sense for them to play Challenger. They’re able to get principal draw into ATP tour occasion. In order that’s tremendous.
Q) With Bengaluru incomes a promotion, how has the group response been?
Crowd has at all times been good. Bengaluru is thought for its sporting tradition and we’ve been getting respectable crowds. In comparison with every other metropolis within the nation, on a mean we had about 750-2000 individuals coming and watching matches by means of the day.