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‘Tata Open 2019 will be bigger and better’: Prashant Sutar, tournament director, Tata open Maharashtra

Hindustan Times, Pune | ByJigar Hindocha
Nov 12, 2018 03:45 PM IST

After a highly successful first year, Tata open Maharashtra is all set to roll down in its second year which will start on December 31 and will conclude on January 5.

Chennai’s loss was Pune’s gain earlier this year as Tata open Maharashtra which was formerly known as the Chennai open became a part of the city tennis calendar and was hosted at MSLTA School of Tennis at Shree Shiv Chhatrapati sports complex .

After a highly successful first year, Tata open Maharashtra is all set to roll down in its second year which will start on December 31 and will conclude on January 5.

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Prashant Sutar the tournament director of Tata open Maharashtra expressed his happiness about the way things fell into the place during the first year and now he is all set to make the event bigger and better.

What are the challenges you are facing for the upcoming event?

There are no big challenges as such. Last year we conducted the tournament nicely. Everything was well managed so this year we are focused more on making it a better event.

What will be the added attraction to the Tata open Maharashtra 2019?

As last year people came in large numbers to watch the matches and they spend 6-8 hours at the stadium. So along with the refreshments we will be adding more fun activities to the stadium so that they can enjoy the game. Every day we will be conducting tennis clinic where young upcoming players can train with experienced tennis players.

What about the stadium upgradation?

We will be installing new lights and will be also adding new technologies in the stadium so that players can enjoy their time in the stadium.

After Hyeon Chung and Kevin Anderson who is the other top player coming for event?

We are in talks with couple of big players, they have shown keen interest in the event. I will not reveal the names right now once, it is finalised we will make an announcement.

Arjun Kadhe was given wild card last year and it helped him a lot so we can expect more wild cards to Indian players?

See, we want Indian players to get advantage of the tournament and we are surely looking into it. If our players get a chance to compete with the international players then it is good for their careers.

What about the sponsors?

It’s good that we have good back up from Maharashtra Government but at the same time we are looking for other sponsors as well as it helps to add sponsors on the board.

Your views on Maharashtra as a tennis hub of the nation

So currently we have one ATP 250 – Tata Open Maharashtra event and WTA – Mumbai Open so it is definitely helping our state to produce quality of players. As an organiser our best interest is to boost the tennis talent in the state.

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