Vijay Amritraj new Tamil Nadu Tennis Association chief

Indian tennis legend Vijay Amritraj was unanimously elected as the president of the Tamil Nadu Tennis Association (TNTA) at its AGM here on Thursday.
Indian tennis legend Vijay Amritraj. (File | AFP)
Indian tennis legend Vijay Amritraj. (File | AFP)

CHENNAI: Indian tennis legend Vijay Amritraj was unanimously elected as the president of the Tamil Nadu Tennis Association (TNTA) at its AGM here on Thursday. The change was necessary as the out-going president MA Alagappan had completed nine years in office.

Amritraj, who was responsible for bringing the India Open (before it was called Chennai Open) from New Delhi to Chennai, promised to further elevate the city’s tennis culture.   

“It is a privilege and honour to be president of the TNTA. It is here in Chennai that I grew up  as a kid and up as the nuances of the game and step by step climbed the ladder to play for  India with distinction. It is also a huge responsibility and I wish to take the game forward,’’ Vijay told Express.

“We have a good structure and an able team. My job is to channelise their energy and see how we can grow.’’

Having first toured the world as a player and later as a commentator of some repute, Amritraj knows what ails the sport from an Indian context.

“Fitness is the main area of concern for the sport not only in TN, but also the country as  such. Everyone knows how difficult it is to survive in the circuit with the change in style of play (power tennis) and importantly the quality of play world over. Only the fittest can survive. We would like to device programmes and initiatives with the TNTA and the Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu (SDAT) in order to improve the fitness of the players,’’ revealed Vijay.

The next thing that every tennis aficionado in the city would want is to have a tournament like the Chennai Open back.

“Yes, I am aware of the expectation. The tournament (Chennai Open) is gone to Pune. There are several options in the men’s circuit to bring in here. We can also try to bring in a women’s tour on par with that of the Chennai Open. There is going to be lot of change in tennis calendar in the next couple of seasons,’’ insisted the former four-time Grand Slam quarterfinalist.

He will also try to ask academies in the state to also concentrate more on fitness drills.

“Yes, we have a good structure. I will try to add fitness and skill development to these and try to take the game forward .”

President: Vijay Amritraj; Vice presidents: A Vellayan, Karti P Chidambaram, Vijay Sankar, Haresh Ramachandran; Secretary: Prem Kumar Karra; Treasurer: Vivek Reddy.

ashok.v@newindianexpress.com

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