Pune, Feb 13 Manas Dhamne, Aryan Shah and Karan Singh have been handed main draw wildcards at the Maha Open ATP Challenger 100 Men’s Tennis Championship, to be held at the Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex at Mhalunge Balewadi from February 16 to 23.
The premier high-level ATP Challenger, organised by Maharashtra State Lawn Tennis Association (MSLTA) in association with the Department of Sports and Youth Services, Govt. of Maharashtra, PCMC and PMC at the Mhalunge Balewadi Tennis Stadium, will see top tennis players from 28 countries in action.
The Pune event is the third of a series of four ATP Challenger events being held in India. The previous tournaments were held in Chennai and Delhi, while the last event will be played in Bengaluru.
Regarding the wildcard entries, 17-year-old Dhamne is coming off a recent victory at a USD 15,000 ITF event in Monastir, Tunisia. Meanwhile, 19-year-old Shah has shown consistent performances in ITF tournaments over the past year, and 21-year-old Karan made his Davis Cup debut just two weeks ago.
The tournament boasts a total prize pool of Rs 1.12 crore. The champion will earn 100 ATP ranking points along with Rs 15.50 lakh, while the runner-up will receive 60 ATP points and Rs 9 lakh.
Players exiting in the first round will be awarded Rs 1.10 lakh, while qualifiers will receive an incentive of Rs 33,000.
The main draw features 32 players, including 23 direct entries, three wildcards, and six qualifiers. The qualifying round will consist of 24 players, with four of them receiving wildcards.
"We are looking at the future of Indian tennis, and these are the players who will take the next steps with events like this. We made the right move with 15-year-old Maaya Rajeshwaran at L&T Mumbai Open last week, and we believe this week too might throw up surprises. We believe that by providing right opportunities and moments, our players can move to the next level.
"We had this discussion in detail and feel this is the right way forward. We have also decided to award one wildcard in the qualifying to 16-year-old Arnav Paparkar," event organiser Sunder Iyer.
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