Mumbai (Maharashtra): Players from 31 countries will be seen in action at the Maharashtra State Lawn Tennis Association (MSLTA) and Cricket Club of India (CCI)-organised L&T Mumbai Open, which returns to the tennis calendar after a long gap of six years.
An exciting line-up at the third edition of the tournament will include three top 100 players in the singles and six top 100 players in the doubles event, which is a part of the WTA $125K series.
The tournament will be played at the newly laid tennis courts at the CCI in south Mumbai. Qualifying matches will be played on February 3 and 4 while the main draw action will begin from February 5. The finals will be played on February 11.
American Kayla Day, the 2016 US Open girls singles champion and world No. 82, will lead the 32-player field, along with Japan's Nao Hibino, winner of three WTA Tour singles titles. Also former French Open semi-finalist Tamara Zidansek, ranked 97th in the world will feature in the tournament to make the action exciting. Other players in the field include American Katie Volynets, Australians Arina Rodionova and Kimberly Birrell and Brazil's Laura Pigossi.
16-year-old Russian Alina Korneeva, who was the top-ranked junior in the world last year, and reached the third round of the 2024 Australian Open women's singles event just 12 months after winning the girl's singles title, will also be seen in action in Mumbai.
India’s top-ranked doubles player Prarthana Thombare and Dutch partner Arianne Hartono have a direct entry into the doubles event. Wild cards for the tournament are expected to be announced in the coming days.
IAS officers Sanjay Khandare and Pravin Darade, who are members of the Organising Committee, said in a statement that it will be an exciting week of tennis for fans in Mumbai.
"We are delighted to bring back world-class tennis to Mumbai after a gap of a few years. The WTA Mumbai Open has attracted some big names and rising stars in the past, including two-time Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka, who won her first WTA $125K title right here in Mumbai in 2017,” they added.
This is the third edition of the WTA Mumbai Open with past singles champions including world No. 2 Sabalenka (2017) and Thailand's Luksika Kumkhum (2018).
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