CHENNAI: The planned national camp for some of India's best singles men's and women's tennis players is a welcome move, according to Zeeshan Ali. Ali, who will oversee the camp that is scheduled to begin at the end of this month, says 'this is the first time that a camp of this magnitude has been organised' by the All India Tennis Association 'in a long time'. "Certainly, as far as I can remember, I don't think since the time I have been involved in the game, a camp like this been done," he explained.
It's welcome because of a number of reasons. One, a lot of players are yet to get back to the professional circuit after it was skewered by the coronavirus pandemic in March. "Even if some of the leading players like Prajnesh (Gunneswaran), Sumit (Nagal) have returned to competition, there are a lot of players who are yet to return to match practice. It's significant at that level because this
is a camp that's going to have 20 of India's best players."
In that sense, the camp, to be held in New Delhi for three weeks (for men from November 30 and for women from January 4) is going to be an important pathway for players to get back to training. "Usually when you speak of camps from an Indian perspective, we get up to six players for the Davis Cup and that too only for a week or so. This is going to be for a bigger duration and will have more players."
So does Ali — who also doubles up as a coach for the Davis Cup team — expect to have the likes of Nagal and Gunneswaran, who are already in Europe, playing Tour-level matches. "The camp is certainly open for them but if they do have prior commitments, it will be difficult for them to come." As of this moment, the camp is open only for elite singles players so the likes of Rohan Bopanna and Divij Sharan turning up is miniscule.
But Ali, who had a meeting with the AITA on Tuesday to decide on the safety protocol for the camp, said he will take this issue up with the AITA on Wednesday. "It will be good if we can get the doubles players on board." The three-week camp will also include a week for the National Championships. But it won't be a regular event, this one will only be an invitational one, open only for the 20 or so players already part of the camp. It goes without saying that the meet will not have a doubles event.
Challenger to go ahead next year
Meanwhile, the 2021 edition of the Bengaluru Challenger is expected to go ahead. The 2020 edition, held in February, was won by Australia's James Duckworth. A date, however, is yet to be announced. "We have taken a decision to have it in 2021," Karnataka State Lawn Tennis Association (KSLTA) joint secretary, Sunil Yajaman, told The New Indian Express. "Maybe by the end of the month, we will decide whether to push it back by a few months from the scheduled time (February)."