Indian No. 1 Sumit Nagal will lead the players from 28 countries at the PMRDA Powered Maha Open ATP Challenger 100 Men’s International Tennis Championship which will be organized by Maharashtra State Lawn tennis Association (MSLTA) in association with the Department of Sports and Youth Services, Govt of Maharashtra at the Mahalunge Balewadi Tennis Stadium
The premier high Level ATP Challenger is sponsored by Pune Metropolitan Regional Development Authority (PMRDA) under a 5-year agreement will be played from Sunday February 17 to Sunday February 25 2024.
Addressing the Media Mr. Rajesh Deshmukh (IAS), Commissioner of Sports and Youth Services Government of Maharashtra, said that the PMRDA Powered MahaOpen Challenger is another Feather on Cap of Indian Tennis Calendar organised by MSLTA in association with our department .
“We at the Department of Sports are thrilled to support such a huge international event which goes a long way in promoting the image of the Pune Metropolis Region universally” .
“Providing international competition to Indian players and also promotion of Sports has been one of the main reasons for us and the PMRDA getting involved and supporting this event” Mr Deshmukh added
He announced The prize money for the event will be USD 130,000 (Rs. 1.07 crores). The winner will receive 100 ATP ranking points and USD 17,650 (Rs. 14.50 lakhs) and the runner up 60 ATP points and USD 10,380 (Rs. 8.5 lakhs). The first round loser receives USD 1,270 (Rs. 1.04 lakhs). The qualifiers also receive an incentive of USD 380 (Rs. 31,000/-).
Mr Prashant Sutar, Chairman of MSLTA and the Jt tournament director, said that we are happy to organise this Challenger successfully in the city with aim to benefit Indian Players to gain valuable points.
Organizing the PMR Challenger event is a continuation of a grand vision of MSLTA for tennis development and promotion in Maharashtra. This follows the successful completion of the L&T Mumbai Open WTA 125 K series.
He also announced the two of the two main draw wildcards to Ramkumar Ramanathan and SasiKumar Mukund.
The Hon Secretary of MSLTA Sunder Iyer said that it was a proud moment for Maharashtra to host another major tennis event in this year. MSLTA hosted events worth over $425,000 (₹3.5 crores), which was the highest in the country and this was possible with the Government of Maharashtra support and corporate support. We are happy that these events have helped our tennis players not only in Maharashtra but across India.
“On behalf of MSLTA and Indian Tennis fraternity we would like to thank PMRDA commissioner Mr. Rahul Mahiwal and the Commissioner of Sports Mr. Rajesh Deshmukh for their support to the event” he added .
The main draw will consists of 32 players – 23 direct acceptances, 3 wild cards, 6 qualifiers. Qualifying consists of 24 players with 4 wild cards.
Mr Rogerio Santos of Portugal will be the ATP Supervisor for the event.
Other partners for the event will be PMC PCMC, Panchshil, Enerzal (Energy Drink Partners), Shashwat Hospital (Medical Partner), Radio City 91.1, Amanora Park Towers and Bank of Maharashtra
The timings of play will be from 11 am onwards. Entry for spectators to witness the matches is free and we look forward to a great number of sports and tennis lovers to come to the stadium to witness the matches.
Following are The Probable Seeding
Nagal, Sumit IND 121
Ajdukovic, Duje CRO 125
Sachko, Vitaliy UKR 165
Vacherot, Valentin MON 171
Walton, Adam AUS 177
Crawford, Oliver GBR 190
Jacquet, Kyrian FRA 193
Svrcina, Dalibor CZE 194
Gaio, Federico ITA 197