CHENNAI: Indian tennis has quietly enjoyed a few good weeks. Rohan Bopanna became the oldest first time World No. 1 in the sport. Sumit Nagal advanced to the second round of the Australian Open; a first by an Indian since he himself did it at the US Open in 2020. At the ongoing WTA $125,000 event in Mumbai, the unseeded Sahaja Yamalapalli (No. 336) took down top-seed Kayla Day (No. 92) in the opening round.
On Sunday, Nagal can keep this run going if he wins the ongoing Chennai Challenger. If he does it, he will become the first from the country, man or woman, to break into the top-100 since Prajnesh Gunneswaran did it before the pandemic.
Of even more importance is the four-week Challenger swing in India. It began in Chennai this week and will conclude in Delhi next month. Up for grabs is 375 points. That India is hosting four ATP Challenger (the second rung just below the ATP Tour) has been well received by the players. It's the first time that the country is having four in a single year since 2015.
Why is it important?
Consider the example of Jannik Sinner, who won the Australian Open last month. In 2019, Italy hosted as many 18 Challengers in a single season, with a very young Sinner winning two of those meets (out of the 18, Italians won as many as eight). It allowed a number of Italians to make the top-100 in a very short period. When you make the top-100, it's almost like entering inside a special club inside the world of professional tennis. Access to better coaching, clarity with respect to plans, affording a full-time coach on Tour, not needing to play qualifiers of tournaments, especially at the Majors.
During this time, Sinner's ranking received a significant boost; outside the top 750 to inside the top-100. Another player to have rapidly climbed the ascent was Lorenzo Musetti. Here's what Musetti had told this daily about the Italian Federation's behind the scenes work that made them one of the best countries with respect to having young players knocking on the door of the top-100.
"We are one of the best countries in the world," he had told this daily when he had to come play in the Pune Open in 2022. "I'm very proud to be part of it."
From the beginning of 2017 till January 2022, the country had hosted 95 Challengers. In the process, the number of players in the top-100 doubled from four to eight. Crucially, these weren't veterans. Out of the eight in the top-100, three were 25 or under. They have kind of shown that the model is sustainable. In 2024, there are four Italians in the top-100 who are 22 or below.
A fifth, Luca Nardi, will join them if he manages to beat Sumit in the final on Sunday.But it's not like Indian players will emulate the Italian system overnight. It will take time, money, patience and trial and error.
"It's fantastic for the players," says Nandan Bal, chairman of the All India Tennis Association's (AITA) selection committee. "Four Challengers back-to-back gives the players an opportunity to pick up points." Considering they don't need to travel, it results in significant savings. They can also expect to be given wild-cards; a luxury they won't normally get when they travel overseas.
Here's another example. India is hosting four Challengers, which means at least eight wild-cards to players from the country (plus more at the qualifying level). The little things go a long way. Here's Nagal. "It's a very nice opportunity (for Indian players)," he had said after his quarterfinal on Friday. "I have always spoken about the need of more tournaments in India. It's a great thing. If you have few Futures (ITF World Tour; the lowest rung on the professional circuit) and Challengers throughout the year, it will really help tennis."
Easier said than done. It's not that state associations (or the AITA) don't want to host international level events. The cost factor means not many can afford it. "You are talking about Rs 50 lakh plus more if there's hospitality as part of the package', for an ATP 50 event (50 ranking points for the winner)," Bal says.
Events supported by ATP
This is where the ATP have come in. It's understood that they have supported all four tournaments. "We attended an ATP conference last year. They were happy with what we did last year so they wanted us to host more Challenger events and in a swing system (back-to-back meets), says Sunder Iyer, an All India Tennis Association (AITA) administrator.
The 'we' here refers to Snil Yajaman (representing KSLTA), Hiten Joshi (TNTA) and himself (MSLTA). In fact, going forward, do not be surprised if Challenger events in India have ATP 150-175 level tournaments.
Sunder also shares a screenshot of what the ongoing WTA 125 event has done to the ranking of Indian women's players. As many as five of them will have an NCH (New Career High) next to their name come Monday morning.
Nagal himself will have an NCH next to his name in a day's time. As long as he manages to beat Nardi, it will be on the right side of the 100. "This is the best I have felt, physically and mentally," he said after his win over Dalibor Svrcina on Saturday.It's a feeling Indian tennis will echo too.
