Bengaluru, Oct 15: With incessant rain lashing the Garden City, the opening day’s action of the SKME ITF Open was cancelled at the Karnataka State Lawn Tennis Association Tennis Stadium here on Tuesday.

ITF Supervisor Saman Hassani first called off the doubles action at 5pm, and was hopeful of getting the singles underway under lights. But as the heavens opened up after a short break, he had no choice but to call off play for the day at 6.30pm.

“Due to heavy rain since morning, we were not able to start the matches today. With no chance of getting the courts conducive for play in the evening, we were forced to call off play for today and postpone all matches to tomorrow,” said Hassani.

With the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) predicting a wet week in Bengaluru, the organisers of the prestigious $15,000 event will be hard-pressed to complete the first day’s backlog.

“The plan is to use five courts tomorrow, three at the KSLTA and two at the Sree Kanteerava stadium,” said the ITF official. “And if it doesn’t rain tomorrow, we will be able to complete the matches on time,” said the ITF official.