Amritraj opens up about challenges to bring ATP 250 event to India

Amritraj
| Photo Credit: R. RAGU

Indian tennis legend and Tamil Nadu Tennis Association (TNTA) president Vijay Amritraj on Saturday gave an update on his effort to bring an ATP 250 event to India.

“The ATP is revamping their whole schedule. So, they’ve come out with a calendar for 2026. There are two open weeks. There are two TBDs (To Be Decided) in the calendar. One in the summer, and one in the fall. So, I had gone after the fall event around eight or nine months ago. That’s the Moscow event. That’s now become a TBD. Two years ago, they put that event in Tel Aviv (Israel). Then, they took it out of Israel and stuck it for one year in Sofia (Bulgaria). And I’m sitting here saying, ‘Hey, give me the event!’

“The problem is that it’s a winter tournament and it’s here in November. So, we also have our window of Dec-Jan-Feb, or potentially two weeks in September after the U.S. Open. So, our windows are also a little narrow on when we can afford to have it. So, that’s been the dilemma for them,” he said on the sidelines of the Chennai Open ATP Challenger.