Taking the Game To A Whole New Level: Vijay Amritraj Announces Champions Tennis League
Taking the Game To A Whole New Level: Vijay Amritraj Announces Champions Tennis League
Ace Indian tennis player Vijay Amritraj announced the launch of the Champions Tennis League (CTL) in the country. The aim is to take the sport to new levels of awareness and heighten its popularity in India. The CTL is all set to feature 6 city based teams who will slug it out in 13 matches over a period of 10 days from November 17 to 26.
The teams are going to be structured into 2 groups where there are 3 sides to each. The teams are set to play each other in a home and away format. The teams which are at the top of the game in their respective group will face each other in the grand finale. The prize money is pegged at 1 crore. The runner-ups will be given 50 lakhs.
The Champions Tennis League teams will feature male and female players who have achieved international rankings between 5 and 25. Each of the 6 teams will also have an international legend as the playing captain along with a well known Indian male tennis player plus top-ranked junior Indian girls and boys from each city.
The teams will also travel to several different cities bringing about a blend of entertainment and sports to viewers across a different set of locations. Amritraj is currently the Chairman and MD of Second Serve Pvt Ltd and this is the company behind the CTL. He has discussed with media person about how this initiative was jointly discussed with AITA (All India Tennis Association) so that tennis entertainment can become a reality in India on a never before seen scale.
Amritraj also disclosed that they are in final negotiations with interested parties in metros such as Mumbai, New Delhi and Bangalore. Discussions are also on to try and zone in on cities like Pune, Hyderabad and Chennai for the remaining 2 franchises.
He has discussed how he looks forward to 6 franchise owners who adore the sport and want to maximize opportunities provided by the franchise within their home city. The aim, according to Amritraj, is a win-win partnership for all.
He has discussed how the players' names will be confirmed in August along with 6 franchise owners. AITA and Amritraj's Second Serve are pleasured to include the top national junior talent and ensure international stars are able to inspire and guide them to success. On the Amritraj-Bupathi move towards establishing a junior talent championship, Vijay has commented that his is an India-based league while Mahesh is targeting Asia. Also, unlike IPTL, CTL is not targeting the top 5.
With so many talented young players emerging, there is place for both IPTL and CTL in the Indian nation. As young players emerge triumphant in leading tournaments across the world, the importance of honing the talents of Indian youngsters cannot be emphasized enough. CTL offers an exciting opportunity for young tennis players in India.
