Cities like Raipur and Nagpur will get to see world class tennis and we are very delighted to have these cities join Champions Tennis league (CTl) in 2015, said Vijay Amritraj, Indian tennis legend and global ambassador of the sport.
“This year, we move to 14 days from 10 last year and CTl promises to be bigger, better and stronger,” he said.
The franchisees — one each for Hyderabad, Mumbai, Chandigarh, Raipur and Nagpur, were introduced individually by Amritraj, who then called on them to say a few words about their expectations from the league at a press conference held in Mumbai.
As in Season 1, CTl will feature six city based teams across India. CTl will see 13 matches played over a 2-week period from November 23rd 2015 to December 6th 2015. The teams will be structured into 2 groups, each having 3 teams, where all teams play each other in a home and away format.
The team with the highest number of games won in their respective group will play each other in the grand finale to win prize money of Rs 1 crore. The runner-up will win `50 lakhs.
CTl teams will feature international male and female players; each of the six teams will also have an international legend as their playing captain, apart from a noted Indian male tennis player, plus a top ranked junior Indian girl and boy from each city. The teams will also travel to other cities bringing tennis excitement and entertainment in a spectacle that has never been seen on this scale in India before, for tennis.
Abhishek Mishra owner of Team Raipur said “I really feel very proud and honoured to bring Vijay Amritraj's brain child- Champion Tennis league to Raipur. It is a great opportunity for the people of Raipur to watch international sports stars in action outside of cricket and I have no doubt that we will have a fantastic event in Raipur. CTl has a unique format that is exciting for the fans and I cannot wait for the matches to begin”
Speaking on the occasion Vijay Amritraj said, “The inaugural season of Champions Tennis league saw many international stars take their world class talent to six cities in India with great players bringing action packed and exciting tennis to all parts of the country.
The unveiling of the players taking part in CTl 2015 followed the introductions to the franchise owners. Renowned and ranked international players along with talented Indian players were up for the team drafts. Conceptualised to promote the passion for tennis, CTl Season 2 is expected to keep the promise of taking tennis in India to new levels of awareness and popularity.