Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], February 1 : With the aim of providing level playing opportunities and good competition to Indian players, Ankita Raina, Sahaja Yamalapalli and Rutuja Bhosale, India's top three ranked women, and promising teenager Vaishnavi Adkar, of Maharashtra, have been awarded the singles main draw wild cards at the Mumbai Open WTA 125K Series Tennis Championships, being organized by the Maharashtra State Lawn Tennis Association (MSLTA) and the Cricket Club of India (CCI).
Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Organising Committee members, Sanjay Khandare and Pravin Darade stated, "We are happy to get back this world class event back to India with an aim of providing world class competition to our players. We also thank our Sponsors for coming forward and supporting women's tennis in the country. I'm sure that having such a major event at the beginning of the year will help our players to improve their ranking and participate in higher level events globally."
"Our players do not get to play such high-level events due to various reasons and that is why we decided to organise this event here so at least 8 to 10 Indians can get a chance to gain valuable WTA points and thereby improving their world rankings," added Khandare and Darade.
Prashant Sutar, Chairman of MSLTA, thanked the Maharashtra Government for their continued support. "We are thankful to the Government of Maharashtra for their support to tennis, with their backing we have been able to organise ATP tour events, Davis Cup ties, ATP Challengers and the WTA 125 Series events," he said, according to a release.
"With the government support, we are launching Lakshyavedh project for Maharashtra players. Under this initiative, we have joined hands with JC Ferrero Academy to start a world-class tennis academy in Pune," he added.
Bharat Oza, President of MSLTA, said that in 2023-2024, MSLTA has organised international tournaments worth over Rs 3.5 crores in the women's and men's categories at Solapur, Navi Mumbai, Nagpur, Pune and Mumbai.
"This is the highest by any association in India. MSLTA's contribution to Indian tennis has been immense and the Mumbai Open is the biggest tennis event on the Indian Calendar this year," he said.
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