World Tennis League innovations work well with the audience!

Sport is dynamic, there is no constant in it. And running sport is more about making innovations, making it enjoyable and ensuring the fans have a great experience. For those who think cricket’s Indian Premier League is responsible for making a change in the sporting landscape at home (in India), that is wrong. Yes, the IPL is no longer a billion-dollar baby, as a headline screamed over a decade ago. Now, its valuation exceeds billions of dollars. And it will grow further, no matter what cynics say.

Talking, specifically, about tennis in India, fans have been starved for decades. We had our own heroes and we will still support our players who have the potential and promise to go on and become bigger stars. Watching tall and gangling Dhakshineswar Suresh explode at the S.M.Krishna Stadium in Bengaluru on Friday night against Daniil Medvedev in the World Tennis League was a great moment. Imagine, a boy from Madurai in Tamil Nadu uncorks champagne stuff and has the crowd going bananas, its great. This is sport, this is fun, this is joy. Before the cynic says, oh, he is still ranked only in 500-region on the ATP computer, stop it.

The very fact Indian players like Suresh, Sumit Nagal and Maaya Raajeswaran Revathi are stepping up cannot be ignored. To get an opportunity to rub shoulders and share the court with legends from overseas is in itself a great moment. One man who has watched Indian tennis for long, is none other than CGK Bhupathi. This writer has known CGK, as we address him, for over three decades. He was, indeed excited to see Suresh serve and was raving about it on Day 1 of the World Tennis League.

CGK needs no introduction, he has mentored Mahesh Bhupathi during the younger days in dusty courts abroad in the Gulf. That Mahesh went on to become a bigger player is well-known. Today, it is the same doubles legend who brings us these moments of joy in tennis.

Imagine, in 1997/98, when Madras, now Chennai, was hosting an ATP event called the Chennai Open, it was really big. What one saw in it was professional tennis in full cry, the birth place of Lee and Hesh as doubles exponents.

At the same time, fans craved to see a Boris Becker, past prime, as well as young tennis lovers fall in love with Carlos Moya. Not to forget, when serve and volley exponent Pat Rafter also showed up, it was passion for fans. But then, that was a ‘one star’ per event showing up. There were also instances when the organisers had put in too much appearance money on one player, an example being Yevgeny Kafelinkov, of a private jet fame known as Citation 10. Yevgeny had failed fans as well, losing early, which was shocking.

Well into his playing years, Mahesh Bhupathi dared to do more such stuff like bringing bigger players into India like Martina Navratilova, and then ensured the International Tennis Premier League caravan also did show up in New Delhi. These were all great concepts for sure. What it gave fans was an opportunity to watch big players, male and female, and what it gave fans was also memories.

The process of reinventing and now bringing the World Tennis League to Bengaluru needs to be welcomed. This writer has talked to a Nick Kyrgios and also heard from other overseas stars who have come here. It may be the tennis off-season of you look at the ATP and WTA calendars. But then, when you can have a Laver Cup, named after the big man, Rod Laver, experimentation with the WTL is worth it.

They say, seeing is believing. Indeed, the WTL has been impressive. Yes, there can be more improvement, for the media as well. We would like to hear from the big stars in depth in one-on-one interviews. As a first edition audition with the final slated for Saturday (today) in Bengaluru, the WTL is a welcome change. For those who want serious options, they already exist in the form of Challengers and Davis Cup, also to be held in Bengaluru in 2026. As the locals say, ‘Namma Bengaluru’ loves sport, the WTL included.