IPTL: Rotation in mind, Indian Aces’ eyeing a move out of Delhi

Mahesh Bhupathi at an IPTL event in Mumbai on Tuesday. (Source: Express Photo by Prashant Natkar)

With the Indian Aces owners keen on making their International Premier Tennis League franchise an all-India entity, the home gigs for Aces headlined by their top act Rafael Nadal, are likely to move out of Delhi next season. “We are seriously considering moving out of Delhi and exploring other options, with Mumbai being high on priority,” co-owners Siddhesh Sharma and Gulshan Jhurani said during a media interaction in the western metropolis on Tuesday.

However, lack of adequate infrastructure including a high capacity stadium to replace the IGI Stadium, remains a concern. “We want to take IPTL to Mumbai, Kolkata or Chennai, because Indian Aces is not just about Delhi,” Sharma added of the idea to rotate the venue.

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Stating that more than half the tickets sold last year were from outside the NCR, Sharma added that Mumbai’s NSCI could be a potential indoor venue, though the owners are keenly aware of the venue’s capacity limitations. “Sachin Tendulkar who is a big tennis fan, recently told us that we needed to think of a bigger spectator space because it would be a pity to have just 15,000 watch when tennis’ biggest stars in Federer and Nadal face off against each other. That’s gotten us thinking,” he said.

The event was dubbed a success in Delhi last year and generated plentiful excitement but the promoters are keen that the novelty of seeing the big stars stays intact as newer options are explored each season.

The Indian franchise, in the five-team tennis roadshow that brings together the biggest contemporary names in tennis including Roger Federer, Nadal, Serena Williams and Novak Djokovic, replaced Federer with Nadal this season on its roster and is keen that as a younger player (Federer will be 35 next year; Nadal 30), the team-brand could be built around the Spaniard in the coming seasons.

While their rivalry is the biggest that contemporary tennis has seen, the owners were acutely aware that restricting the show to just one city wouldn’t be maximising the potential of bringing the stars to India given the massive enthusiasm to watch the legends live in other cities of the country.

While Nadal’s will be the toplining presence for the home team, added to the mix this time around is Indian doubles legend Leander Paes, signalling a resumption of a cordial equation with league owner and former partner Mahesh Bhupathi. “Leander is an absolute entertainer. He loves the big stage and what bigger audience for him than a full house night after night. He’s won the World Team Tennis (the American mixed team event) five times in a row,” Bhupathi said when asked how Paes was roped in and will turn out for the brand new franchise Japan Warriors which boasts of the local sensation Kei Nishikori.

Commenting on why a youngster like Yuki Bhambri, India’s top-ranked men’s singles player (No 88 in ATP), didn’t make the grade, Bhupathi insisted that young Indian players would need to do much more. “The very best are here. But we are expected to maintain a certain level of quality or the international broadcast figures will fall. They were in the draft this year, but as and when they get better, they — Yuki (Bhambri), Sumit (Nagal) and Karnam Kaur — get good enough, they’ll be picked. Amongst Indians we have Sania Mirza and Rohan Bopanna,” he said. Even former greats like Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi weren’t picked. “The league’s gotten very competitive, and owners are now looking beyond the star value to pick players who’ll win them matches and the Cup,” he said.

Addressing concerns that the year-ending window might cost the top players their offseason workouts, Bhupathi said, “Most top players bring their ‘training’ along — trainers, physios, sparring partners, so they aren’t compromising on off season,” he said.