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Qatar, as of now, hosts two international tennis events annually — the ATP Qatar ExxonMobil Open in December-January every year, followed by the WTA Qatar Total Open in February. |
There could soon be an addition. If all goes well, Doha could be one of the six cities that will be hosting the inaugural edition of the International Tennis Premier League (ITPL), scheduled to be held in late 2014 (November 29 to December 21 is the scheduled period).
Being envisioned on the lines of cricket’s Indian Premier League (IPL), with chunks of the format drawn from the US-based World Team Tennis, the ITPL will feature six franchise-owned city-based teams in its inaugural year, with the provision of making it a 10-team affair in subsequent years. Doha is one of the shortlisted cities; the others being Dubai, Manila, Mumbai, Bangalore, Kolkata, Singapore, Tokyo, Osaka, Hong Kong, Seoul, Beijing and Jakarta.
The brainchild behind the whole initiative is Indian tennis ace Mahesh Bhupathi. German tennis legend Boris Becker and Justin Gimelstob, the former American player who is now part of the ATP board, are believed to have invested in the ITPL venture. So have some of the current top players, though Bhupathi wouldn’t reveal their names yet.
“We are keen to have a Doha franchise. The tennis infrastructure there is great, and the weather too is conducive. The talks are at an advanced stage, but at this moment I can only say that the Qatar capital stands a big chance to be one of the six franchise cities,” Bhupathi told Gulf Times from Paris.
Among the top names who have confirmed to be part of the ITPL, according to Bhupathi, are Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray, Thomas Berdych, Jo-Wilfred Tsonga, Janko Tipsarevic, Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova, Victoria Azarenka, Li Na, Caroline Wozniacki and Sam Stosur, to name a few. Veterans like Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi and Pat Rafter could also be seen in action in the legends’ section.
The players’ draft, Bhupathi says, will be held sometime in January 2014, with each team having a roster of between six and 10 players. The matches would be held on home-and-away basis between the six franchises, a la IPL. The matches would be played in the evenings — five matches in all (men’s singles, women’s singles, men’s doubles, mixed doubles and legends singles) — with a 30-match schedule planned for the first year.
“Besides the marquee players (like Djokovic, Nadal, Murray, Williams, Sharapova, Azarenka), each franchise can buy up to 10 players from the nearly 100-strong players’ draft, which could cost them somewhere between $4 to 10mn depending on the players they pick. There will be five categories of players, with each category having a separate base price. Players will be slotted on the basis of rankings, popularity and potential,” informed Bhupathi, who would be retiring from the Tour after the 2013 season. He also added that he would not be part of the players’ draft.
With the ITPL set to consume the year-ending one month break, won’t it be too taxing for the players who have already been complaining about it?
“See, this is a private league, though we have applied for a sanction from the ITF (International Tennis Federation). Most of the top players anyway play exhibition events during the off-season. And we are not forcing anyone. We have also planned the schedule in such a way that it won’t be taxing for the players,” Bhupathi explained.
All About ITPL
♦ To be played between Nov 29-Dec 21, 2014
♦ Six teams from six Asian cities to compete in franchise-based league
♦ Players’ auction to be held in Jan 2014
♦ Each franchise can pick between six to 10 players, costing between $4 to 10mn
♦ Total prize purse of $12,000,000, with a top player standing to earn in excess of $1mn
♦ Doha, Bangalore, Kolkata, Mumbai, Osaka, Tokyo, Beijing, Singapore, Manila, Hong Kong and Dubai among shortlisted cities
♦ Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray, Tomas Berdych, Jo-Wilfred Tsonga, Janko --Tipsarevic, Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova, Victoria Azarenka, Li Na, Caroline Wozniacki, Sam Stosur among confirmed names
♦ Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi and Pat Rafter expected to feature among legends