The rescheduling of next year’s Australian Open due to the coronavirus pandemic has forced the organisers of the Maharashtra Open, India’s only ATP Tour event, to postpone the tournament which is usually held at the beginning of the season.
The tournament organisers are hoping to host it and are in talks with ATP for a possible new slot in the second half of the 2021 calendar.
“The organisers are keen to host the fourth edition of the event and have been in talks with the ATP, the governing body of men’s professional tennis, to explore a possible slot in the second half of the calendar,” a media release said on Sunday.
The ATP 250 tournament, moved from Chennai to Pune in 2018, used to be a season-opening event. But the introduction of the ATP Cup in 2020 forced it to move to the post-Australian Open February window.
This year, the ongoing pandemic has disrupted the start of the ATP season and the Australian Open, which usually takes place in January, will now be played from February 8 to 21, with tune-up events to be held in Melbourne after quarantine.
“Live sports have been the worst hit in the COVID-19 pandemic times and it has been facing tough challenges. However, it’s heartening to see a slow and steady comeback as tournaments have started taking place.
“While a number of events are cancelled and postponed, we are happy that we still have an opportunity to rework the dates and stage the tournament. We, at Tata Open Maharashtra, are committed to bringing the tournament back for Indian tennis fans,” Tournament Director Prashant Sutar was quoted as saying in the release.
The Maharashtra Open is an important tournament for several Indian men’s tennis players as it provides an entry in an ATP Tour event via wildcards.
The rescheduling of the event will also give the organisers time to create a secure bubble environment and implement their plans in the best interest of the players and stakeholders.
It will also provide the organisers the time to “work with the government to reassess the 14-day quarantine rule with existing international protocols.”
Currently, the ATP follows the international norm of 72-hour prior test and negative certification instead of 14-day quarantine.
Extending full support, Maharashtra State Lawn Tennis Association secretary Sunder Iyer said we “are working closely with the organisers IMG Reliance to stage the prestigious tournament once again with all the glory along with the best safety protocols in place.”
The last edition of the Maharashtra Open saw Czech Republic’s Jiri Vesely win in singles while the pair of Andre Goransson and Christopher Rungkat claimed the doubles title. In the past, Kevin Anderson and Gilles Simon have been singles champions.
