Ankita, Karman lead Indian challenge as KSLTA to host KPB Trust ITF Women’s Open from March 6

Bengaluru: After the successful completion of the Bengaluru Open 2023, the Karnataka State Lawn Tennis Association (KSLTA) is all set to host another exciting tennis tournament, the KPB Trust ITF Women’s Open, scheduled from March 6 to 12, here.

A clutch of leading tennis stars from India and from around the world will headline the tournament, which is part of ITF Women’s World Tennis Tour. India No. 1 Ankita Raina and Karman Kaur Thandi, a World No. 267, will spearhead the country’s challenge.

“It was a great time for tennis fans during the Bengaluru Open 2023 and we are ready to bring another week full of exciting tennis action with KPB Trust ITF Women’s Open. We welcome KPB Family Trust and Mr KP Balaraj, an ardent supporter of the sport, as title sponsor. We will see some top-class players in action and it will be a treat for the fans. Above all, this underlines the status of Bengaluru and KSLTA as one of the premier tennis destinations in the country,” said Maheshwar Rao, secretary, KSLTA.

Talking about the upcoming tournament, KP Balaraj said: “We are very happy to keep supporting women’s tennis in Bengaluru. Backing women entrepreneurs is an area of big focus for KPB Family Trust. Much greater encouragement is needed for women in startups as it will go a long way in supporting the Honourable PM Narendra Modi’s Startup India vision which has been a tremendous success. I am glad to see so many world class women tennis players participating here and I feel this tournament will be a big boost for young girls who play tennis in India.”

A lot of focus will be on World No. 163 Brenda Fruhvirtova of Czech Republic, who will also be seen in action. The 15-year-old Brenda had appeared in the Australian Open 2023 main draw in January.

Former World No. 30 Misaki Doi of Japan, France’s Amandine Hesse and Valentini Grammatikopoulou of Greece are among the other international players participating at the event.

The main draw of the KPB Trust ITF Women’s Open will kickstart from March 7 while the qualifiers are set to play on March 5 and 6.

–IANS