MUMBAI: Tata Sons have struck a five year sponsorship deal with India’s only ATP event, which will now be called the Tata Open Maharashtra 2018.
Adar Poonawalla has come in as presenting sponsor, using the January 1-6, 2018 tournament at the Balewadi sports complex to showcase the Clean City Initiative, reports The Hindu.
The event will be hosted in Pune for the first time, after moving from Chennai. Rated as an ATP 250 series competition, the event is promoted by IMG-Reliance.
The Tata Open Maharashtra 2018 qualifying rounds will be played on December 30 and 31. The main draw starts January 1, 2018.
The Maharashtra government has announced that the tennis facility at the Balewadi stadium is being upgraded and that five tennis academies are being launched in Pune, Mumbai, Aurangabad, Solapur and Nagpur.
Tournament director Prashant Sutar told The Hindu, “The money collected from the tournament sponsorship will be used for upgradation of Balewadi tennis facility and five academies.”
The 2018 competition has attracted four top-50 players in Croatia’s Marin Cilic, South Africa’s Kevin Anderson, Spain’s Roberto Agut and Robin Haase from The Netherlands.
