Bangalore Open emerges biggest in South Asia

The Women's Tennis Association (WTA) Bangalore Open has emerged as South Asia’s biggest tournament in its third edition only, as it offers a total prize of $600,000 as a tier-two tournament scheduled to be held in the city of flowers from March 3-9.

Launching the mega-event formally in a glitzy function amidst fanfare Sony Ericsson WTA Tour CEO Larry Scott, here on Thursday, said, "The third edition of the Bangalore Open has been upgraded to tier two from tier three. Consequently, the total prize money has now been tripled to $600,000 from $175,000 presented away in the last two editions. It will be the biggest women's tennis show in South Asia,"

The event was launched amidst distinguished sporting personalities of the city like Prakash Padukone, Vijay Amritraj and Pankaj Advani, who graced the occasion. The event is expected to feature leading players from across the globe and the Indian challenge will be spearheaded by Indian tennis sensation Sania Mirza.

“I am sure Sania can go a long way, with good health and fitness and the desire, hard work and attitude that she has for the sport,” Indian tennis legend Vijay Amritraj said.

“This tournament is perhaps the biggest prize money event in the country and with this Bangalore continues to remain on top,” Amritraj added.

The tournament is expected to attract top 30 ranked players. The winner takes home a whopping purse of $95,500 and 300 ranking points to determine the year-end champion. The event will be held at the hardcourts of Kingfisher Signature stadium under the aegis of Karnataka State Lawn Tennis Association (KSLTA).

According to Tournament director and KSLTA secretary Sundar Raju, "Bangalore Open has certainly raised the profile of women's professional tennis in the subcontinent. We hope that the tournament will draw big sponsors as well as huge fans with high quality and top-ranked players will be participating in the event."

The final list of the participating players and sponsor details would be known during mid-February. Yaroslava Shvedova of Russia claimed the singles title of the last year’s championship, while the Chinese Taipei pair of Y.Chan and C.Chuang clinched the doubles title.