CHENNAI: International tennis is all set to return to the city after a gap of three-and-a-half years. A WTA 250 event, the first time such a meet will be held in India, will be staged at the SDAT tennis stadium from September 26 to October 2. Tamil Nadu Tennis Association (TNTA) president, Vijay Amritraj, had raised the prospect of this being held a few weeks ago and it was confirmed on Saturday after chief minister, MK Stalin, handed over the approval letter to Amritraj. The TN government will be the majority sponsor of the $250,000 meet.
With a lot of tennis events in China being cancelled due to Covid-19, TNTA had eyed an opportunity to bring an event to Chennai. They had lobbied for the event and they had the blessings of the TN government. Work is on to bring on to sort out the formalities with the WTA as well as bringing on board additional sponsors. The stadium will also receive some attention as it hasn’t held any international meet — there was an ATP Challenger in February 2019 — for more than three years.