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Your complete guide to Champions Tennis League (CTL)

The Champions Tennis League (CTL), brainchild of Indian tennis legend Vijay Amritraj, set to get under way on November 17 in New Delhi.

The organisers of the league aim to take "tennis in India to new levels". There are 6 city-based teams in CTL. The league runs from November 17 to 26.

Your complete guide to Champions Tennis League (CTL)

Here is your complete guide to CTL


What is CTL?

"Champions Tennis League is a privately owned tennis league, owned and operated by Second Serve Pvt. Ltd (Vijay Amritraj is Chairman and Managing Director of Second Serve). Fronted by Indian tennis legend and global ambassador of the sport Vijay Amritraj, CTL is the only professional tennis league in India where team captains are grand slam champions and the players are amongst the best in the world. Conceptualised to promote a passion for tennis and inculcate a love for the sport, CTL holds the promise of taking tennis in India to new levels," say the organisers.


CTL is 'India-centric and exclusive for India'

Vijay Amritaj said, "We are the only national tennis league. Champions Tennis League (CTL) is exclusive to India. We are doing it in six cities across India. My goal is eventually to take it to eight cities.It will do great things to Indian tennis."


Who is the man behind CTL?

CTL is the brainchild of Indian tennis legend Vijay Amritraj. "I am delighted that we are able to bring top international male and female tennis stars to various parts of the country to participate in a city based India only league. Indian Davis Cup players alongside these great players would be extremely exciting to watch and cheer on for each city. The two young players, a boy and a girl, would fill out the roster, and for me this is particularly important as it gives youngsters an opportunity to learn from this amazing experience," he said.


How many teams will participate?

There are 6 city-based franchises - Punjab (Chandigarh), Bangalore, Hyderabad, Delhi, Mumbai and Pune.


What are the team names?

Punjab Marshalls, Bangalore Raptors, Hyderabad Aces, Delhi Dreams, Mumbai Tennis Masters, Pune Marathas will be vying for top honours.


When does the league start and end?

CTL begins in Delhi on November 17 and culminates in the same city on November 26. It is played between 6 teams, 2 zones (North and South), 10 days and 13 matches.


Who are the big names?

India's ace player Leander Paes will be seen in action along with Feliciano Lopez (World Number 14), Tommy Robredo (World No. 17), Agnieszka Radwanska (World No. 6), Jelena Jankovic (World No. 15) Martina Hingis (former World No. 1), Venus Williams (World No. 18), Alize Cornet (World No. 19), Marcos Baghdatis, Somdev Devvarman and others.

Note: World Rankings as on November 13, 2014


What is the prize money?

Champions - Rs 1 crore

Runner-up - Rs 50 lakhs


Which are the venues?

  • Bangalore - KSLTA Stadium
  • Chandigarh - CLTA Tennis Stadium, Sector 10
  • Delhi - RK Khanna Tennis Stadium DLTA Complex
  • Hyderabad - LB Stadium Tennis Complex
  • Mumbai - Kalina University Sports Complex
  • Pune - Shri Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex,(Balewadi)

What is the format?

There will be matches in 5 categories - Legends, Mixed Doubles, Women's Singles, Men's Doubles and Men's Singles. Teams will contest the matches in this order on home/away basis.

Each team has 4 players, each match consists of 5 sets. The first player/doubles to win 6 games takes the set. Each set is a "match".

Teams are divided into two zones - North and South. The zonal champions compete against each other in the final. Zonal champions are the teams with highest number of games won in their respective zones.

Tie-breakers/draws - In a set (match), all tie-breakers = 1 game. At 5-5, there is a 9-point tie-breaker. If it's 4-4 in the tie-breaker, the player who served second will serve to the receiver's choice of side. Player to win the point, wins the tie-breaker.

There is no 2-point advantage. 1-points decides it all. Tie-breaker at 5-5 not 6-6. Tie-breaker - Best of 9 points. Number of games wins 'ties'.


Where to watch CTL?

All CTL matches will be telecast LIVE on Sony SIX and Sony SIX HD channels in India. Tennis Channel will broadcast in the United States.


What are the zonal groups?

In North Group, Delhi Dreams, Punjab Marshalls and Mumbai Tennis Masters are there.

Hyderabad Aces, Bangalore Raptors and Pune Marathas make up the South Group.


Teams and the players

Each team will have a Legend (also playing captain), International Male, International Female, National Male and National Juniors (Under-21).

Delhi Dreams

  • Juan Carlos Ferrero (Spain) - Legend, Kevin Anderson (South Africa), Jelena Jankovic (Serbia), Sanam Singh (India). Karman Kaur Thandi and Garvit Batra (Indian Juniors).

Punjab Marshalls

  • Greg Rusedski (Britain) - Legend, Leander Paes (India), Garbine Murguza (Spain), Somdev Devvarman (India). Vidit Vaghela and Rishika Sunkara (Indian Juniors).

Hyderabad Aces

  • Mark Philippoussis (Australia) - Legend, Mikhail Youzhny (Russia), Martina Hingis (Switzerland), Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan (India). Nidhi Chilumula and Sasikumar Mukund (Indian Juniors).

Bangalore Raptors

  • Thomas Enqvist (Sweden) - Legend, Feliciano Lopez (Spain), Venus Williams (USA), Ramkumar Ramanathan (India). Sowjanya Bavisetty and Vinod Cheruku Vasisht (Indian Juniors).

Mumbai Tennis Masters

  • Sergi Bruguera (Spain) - Legend, Tommy Robredo (Spain), Alize Cornet (France), Sriram Balaji (India). Pranjala Yadlapalli and Mohit Mayur Jayaprakash (Indian Juniors).

Pune Marathas

  • Pat Cash (Australia) - Legend, Marcos Baghdatis (Cypriot), Agnieszka Radwanska (Poland), Saketh Myneni (India). Shweta Rana and SD Prajwal Dev (Indian Juniors).

The schedule (All times IST)

November 17

  • 5PM - Delhi Vs Punjab in Delhi
  • 8PM - Hyderabad Vs Bangalore in Hyderabad

November 18

  • 5PM - Hyderabad Vs Pune (Hyderabad)
  • 8PM - Delhi Vs Mumbai (Delhi)

November 19 (Rest Day)


November 20

  • 5PM - Bangalore Vs Pune (Bangalore)
  • 8PM - Punjab Vs Mumbai (Chandigarh)

November 21

  • 5PM - Punjab Vs Delhi (Chandigarh)
  • 8PM - Bangalore Vs Hyderabad (Bangalore)

November 22 (Rest Day)


November 23

  • 5PM - Pune Vs Bangalore (Pune)
  • 8PM - Mumbai Vs Delhi (Mumbai)

November 24

  • 5PM - Mumbai Vs Punjab (Mumbai)
  • 8PM - Pune Vs Hyderabad (Pune)

November 25 (Rest Day)


November 26 - FINAL (Delhi)

OneIndia News

Story first published: Tuesday, August 8, 2017, 11:07 [IST]
Other articles published on Aug 8, 2017