International Women's Tennis tourney in Pune from Nov 12

Pune, Nov 9 (UNI) A record number of 15 foreigners, along with top Indian women's tennis players will be seen in action at the 25,000 dollar Poona Club International Women's Tennis championship which gets underway at the Poona Club tennis courts here from November 12.

The championships, organized by the Poona Club under the auspices of the ITF, AITA and the MSLTA, will offer a total prize money of 25,000 dollar (approx Rs 12,50,000), the largest to be offered in any event held in the city and the first tournament of this stature in the country this year.

Speaking to reporters, Poona Club president Anil Seolekar said top upcoming International tennis stars like Akgul Amanmuradova (Uzb-256), Montinee Tangphong (Tha-305), Ankita Bhambri (Ind-335), Olga Panova (Rus-341) and Rushmi Chakravarthi (Ind-413)among others will be seen in action over the eight days of the championships.

Sports committee chairman and joint tournament director Cyrus Patel said last year the club had organized a 10,000 dollar event and has upgraded it to the next level.

He said the event will provide Indian players a level-playing field to compete with the foreign players, and enable them to earn valuable points on the WTA circuit. Mr Sunder Iyer has also been appointed as the joint tournament director for the event.

The winner will receive 25 WTA points and a prize money of 2940 dollar, while the runners-up will receive 17 points and a prize money of 1666 dollar. The semifinalists will receive 11.5 points and prize money of 1078 dollar. The quarterfinalists will get 7 points.

There will also be points and prize money for the qualifying rounds.

The doubles winner pair will also pocket 1176 dollar and the runners up 686 dollar.

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