BENGALURU: The ICICI Lombard sponsored ITF Women’s 25K which is co-sponsored by REVA University and Renault is set to take place between 26th of February – 5th of March 2023, in Bengaluru at the Padukone – Dravid Centre for Sports Excellence.
The tournament is expected to draw in top ranked women’s tennis players from across the world who will battle it out for the crown in both the singles and doubles category. The qualifying rounds will be played on Sunday the 26th and 27th of February with the main draw set to begin from Tuesday the 28th of February.
The tournament promises to be an exhilarating experience for both players and spectators, as Ankita Raina, a World No. 245 and Indian No. 1 Karman Kaur Thandi being the top ranked Indian women’s players who will participate in the tournament. Playing alongside them will be two younger players who train at the PBI – CSE tennis academy, Sahaja Yamalapalli and Soha Sadiq. Audiences are welcome to visit the premises as entry to watch the tournament is free.
On hosting the event, Vivek Kumar, Founder of Padukone – Dravid Centre of Sports Excellence said: “Through this international tennis tournament, the Padukone – Dravid Centre for Sports Excellence aims to promote and develop women’s tennis in the country. A tournament of this calibre helps women tennis players of our country gain the much-needed ITF points to climb up in the world tennis rankings. Not only do they gain crucial points, but it also benefits them financially as they save on the travel costs which they would have spent to commute to foreign countries to play in ITF tournaments”.
The tournament is the premier event sanctioned by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and will be hosted under the aegis of All India Tennis Association (AITA), and Karnataka State Lawn Tennis Association (KSLTA).
“We welcome Padukone – Dravid Centre of Sports Excellence and Mr Vivek Kumar as the hosts for this tournament. They have excellent facilities and it will be a great experience for the participants. I wish Indian players best of luck and hope they make the best of this opportunity to impress the fans with some brilliant performances,” Maheshwar Rao, IAS, Honorary Secretary, KSLTA, said.
With Sania Mirza’s retirement closing the chapter on our country’s most decorated female tennis player, it is time for the new generation of women tennis players to succeed at the world stage.
