The tournament starting on the 21st of December will see the Tennis Superstars divided into 2 groups of 3 teams and will play in a round-robin format, each match being an 8 game pro set with a tie breaker, if the game is tied at 7-7. The 6 teams will play 4 matches back-to-back to earn a spot in the semi-finals to be played the following morning, which will decide the two teams who will face off against each other in the finals on Sunday evening. The inaugural day of ITPA's first tennis event will also be followed by a sit-down dinner-and-auction at the Khar Gymkhana, where 12 amateurs will bid to play with their favourite pro partners including Sania Mirza in a pro-am match to be held on Sunday noon. Supporting the cause of this tennis tournament, the Khar Gymkhana will be donating a sum of 10 lakhs along with money raised through auction to the ITPA.
Speaking on the rationale behind the initiative, Secretary of ITPA Karti Chidambaram said, "A major part of ITPA's mission is to popularize the sport by connecting the communities to the legends. This being our first tournament has some of India's best tennis talent displaying their prowess on court in a fun and quick style of tennis. We are grateful for the support, both in monetary and logistic terms extended by the team at Khar Gymkhana, that made this tournament happen and hope that this will be the first of many fundraising activities. "
Supporting ITPA's mission to promote the sport in the country, Khar Gymkhana has expressed faith in the association. Expanding further on the Gymkhana's decision to back ITPA, Mr. Ashok Mohanani, President, Khar Gymkhana said, "We are delighted at the prospect of supporting ITPA, a consortium that is working towards the development of the sport. This is also a significant collaboration, due to the fact that almost each one of these players have at some point in their career spent quality time at our courts, making the association all the more dearer to us. We hope that this is one of the many initiatives that the ITPA shall be spearheading and we are honored to be onboard with their first event."
Khar Gymkhana in the western suburbs of Mumbai Allows access to members to play sports like Lawn Tennis, Cricket, Table Tennis, Badminton, Swimming and Squash at the well-equipped club. Khar Gymkhana's association with Indian tennis goes back to the year 1970 when they hosted an India-Sri Lanka Davis Cup tie. Since then tennis has been a popular sport, and the Gymkhana has produced Davis Cup players Asif Ismail and Gaurav Natekar, while multiple Grand Slam winners Mahesh Bhupathi and Leander Paes also use Khar Gymkhana for practice sessions. The Gymkhana also currently houses a tennis academy which trains over 200 children, making inroads to the highest levels of Indian tennis.
One of India's favourite tennis sensations, who will be seen in action at the tournament, Somdev Devvarman welcomed the event, "I think I speak on behalf of all the members of the ITPA when I say that, we are glad we have our first event on the road. It is always a pleasure to be playing in front of the home crowd and this will certainly be no exception, given that this is the first time that all of us would be playing under one roof at home. Considering the structure and the format of ITPA Doubles Masters, I believe and hope that a lot of people turn up to cheer us at the event."
A two-day tennis fest, the ancillary fund raising event hosted by the Khar Gymkhana for ITPA will be an attraction for all the fans across the country waiting to watch their Indian tennis superstars in action during off-season.
