India’s 17-year-old prodigy Manas Dhamne and seasoned campaigners Ramkumar Ramanathan and SD Prajwal Dev have been awarded wild card entries into the singles main draw of the 2025 Bengaluru Open, as the ATP Challenger 125 event returns its thrilling ninth edition at the Karnataka State Lawn Tennis Association (KSLTA) courts in Cubbon Park from February 24 to March 2. Meanwhile, Kriish Tyagi and Niki Kaliyanda Poonacha will compete in the qualifying rounds as wild cards, looking to secure a spot in the main draw, as per a press release from KSLTA.

Dhamne, one of India’s most promising young talents, has been active on the circuit for two years and recently captured his first significant title at the M15 Monastir in Tunisia. The teenager has already etched his name in history, becoming the youngest player to win a first-round match at the junior Australian Open and the youngest to play a main-draw ATP Tour match in 2023.

Prajwal Dev and Ramanathan, meanwhile, bring decades of experience to the tournament. Ramanathan, a mainstay in India’s Davis Cup team, has been active on the circuit since 2009 and is a Bengaluru Open favourite, having added three doubles titles over the years to his burgeoning trophy cabinet. Prajwal Dev, on the other hand, earned his ATP ranking in 2015 and has competed in both singles and doubles throughout his career, winning one ATP Challenger doubles and several ITF doubles titles, including four in 2024.

Tournament Director Sunil Yajman commented on the occasion: “The Bengaluru Open has always played a key role in giving Indian players a platform to compete at a high level, and this year is no different. Manas Dhamne’s rapid progress is exciting for Indian tennis, while Ramkumar and Prajwal Dev bring valuable experience to the field. We look forward to seeing how all our wild card entrants perform in the competition.”

Meanwhile, the Bengaluru Open doubles event will feature 16 teams, split between 10 direct entries, four on-site acceptances, and two wild cards. India’s Anirudh Chandrasekar and Chinese Taipei’s Ray Ho enter as the highest-ranked duo in the main draw, while Blake Bayldon and Matthew Christopher Romios form the second-highest-ranked team. Fresh from their Delhi Open final appearance, Niki Poonacha and Courtney John Lock are also expected to contend strongly.

Maheshwar Rao IAS, Hon. Secretary, KSLTA and Organising Secretary, Bengaluru Open, said: “Doubles has been a strength for Indian tennis, and this event continues to showcase that legacy. The field is strong, featuring top-ranked pairs and accomplished champions, and we look forward to another thrilling week of doubles action at the Bengaluru Open.”

Among other notable doubles entries, top singles seed Vit Kopriva will partner Marek Gengel in doubles, while former World No. 17 Bernard Tomic teams up with Colombia’s Nicolas Mejia. India’s Siddhant Banthia and Parikshit Somani are also among the direct entrants, strengthening home representation.

Since its inaugural edition in 2015, the Bengaluru Open has produced four all-Indian winning pairs, while at least one Indian player has claimed the title in six of the past eight editions. India’s Saketh Myneni and Ramkumar Ramanathan are the reigning Bengaluru Open doubles champions. They are also the joint-most successful players in the event’s history, having won three titles each, two of them as a pair (2022 and 2024).

Emma Raducanu in action© AFP

Carlos Alcaraz with NBA star Jimmy Butler© AFP

The 2025 DafaNews Bengaluru Open, celebrating 10 years since its inaugural edition in 2015, stands as India’s biggest international tennis event. Returning with an upgraded ATP Challenger 125 status, it highlights its importance on both the Indian tennis calendar and the global challenger circuit. Headlined by World No. 128 Vit Kopriva from the Czech Republic, this event features nine top-200 players competing for $200,000 in prize money and 125 ATP ranking points for the singles champion. The tournament promises to deliver thrilling action, further solidifying its position as a key event in the world of tennis.

Set to take place at the KSLTA Courts in Cubbon Park from February 24 to March 2, the tournament, now in its ninth edition, will feature a 32-player singles draw, comprising 20 direct entries, six qualifiers, two special exemptions, one Next Gen Accelerator, and three wild cards. With a cutoff at World No. 237, the competition promises high-quality tennis throughout the week.

Kopriva arrives in Bengaluru in strong form, having reached the final at the Bangkok Open earlier this season. He will be joined by World No. 135 Tristan Schoolkate of Australia, as well as Denmark’s Elmer Moller (152), France’s Ugo Blanchet (159), and Canada’s Alexis Galarneau (177), all looking to make a deep run.

The field also has a former top-20 player in Bernard Tomic, who rose to a career-high rank of 17 in 2016. With the Australian striving to prolong his outstanding career, fans can look forward to some exciting tennis.

Tournament Director Sunil Yajman expressed excitement over the tournament’s depth of the field: “We are delighted to have such a quality field for this year’s tournament. The high cut-off means that Indian fans will get to see quality players in action throughout the week. The Indian players have benefitted from this home event in the past and we are hoping that they will take advantage of having tournaments in their own backyard.”

“Celebrating 10 years since the first edition was played in 2015 makes this tournament particularly special this year. With a stellar field, a strong cutoff, and an upgraded ATP Challenger 125 status- everything has come together this year ensuring a top-tier competition,” he added.

Mr Maheshwar Rao IAS, Hon. Secretary, KSLTA and Organising Secretary, Bengaluru Open, added: “The Bengaluru Open has grown into a premier stop on the ATP Challenger Tour, and reaching this milestone is a testament to its success. This tournament continues to bring world-class tennis to India and provides a crucial platform for our players to compete at an elite level. With an upgraded Challenger 125 status and a strong field, we are excited to deliver another thrilling edition that strengthens Karnataka’s presence on the global tennis map.”

As an ATP Challenger 125 event, the singles winner will bank 125 points while the runner-up and the semi-finalists will take 64 and 35, respectively.

Italy’s Stefano Napolitano won the title in 2024 after a hard-fought final against Sumit Nagal of India. The singles event has also produced two Indian winners in the past: Nagal (2017) and Prajnesh Gunneswaran (2018). The tournament was not held in 2016, 2019, and 2021.

Hamad Medjedovic in action.© AFP

File image of Jannik Sinner.© AFP

World number one Aryna Sabalenka suffered a shock defeat in the second round of the Qatar Open on Tuesday. The Belarusian was thwarted by Russian Ekaterina Alexandrova 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7/5) in a tense encounter lasting over two and a half hours. This was Sabalenka’s first match since losing the Australian Open final in three sets to Madison Keys in January. Alexandrova has turned up in Doha in good form after claiming her fifth WTA title in Linz last week.

The 26th-ranked Alexandrova picked herself up after going one set down to level in the second – but not before an unscheduled appearance by an inquisitive four-legged feline spectator.

With the score at 2-2, 40-30 to Sabalenka, a cat nonchalantly took centre stage, inspecting proceedings courtside before sauntering off via the player’s entrance.

Alexandrova shrugged off the interruption to level the match, then held her nerve to force the deciding set to a tie-break which she took 7-5.

Sabalenka was back competing at the Qatar Open for the first time since 2022, having won the 2020 title in what is the first WTA 1000 event of the season.

Alexandrova’s reward was a last-16 date with Belgian Elise Mertens.

Also dumped out was Coco Gauff who lost in straight sets to Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk.

Former US Open champion Gauff blew a healthy advantage in the second set as Kostyuk sealed a 6-2, 7-5 victory and a third-round meeting with Poland’s Magda Linette.

“Coco is an incredible fighter,” Kostyuk said. “We always have incredible matches. I tried to stick to what I had to do.”

Gauff, playing for the first time since a quarter-final loss to Paula Badosa at the Australian Open, served seven double-faults and made 39 unforced errors in an erratic display.

The American made a terrible start, slipping 4-1 behind after dropping her serve twice.

Gauff was broken again in the eighth game as Kostyuk secured the first set in just half an hour.

The world number three hit back with a break en route to a 4-2 lead in the second set as she started to find her rhythm.

But Kostyuk battled back, taking advantage of an error-strewn Gauff performance which ended when she served two double-faults to be broken for the fifth time.

Rybakina through

Former Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina eased into the last 16.

Rybakina, who lost to eventual winner Belinda Bencic in the Abu Dhabi semi-finals last week, saw off Peyton Stearns in her opening match.

The fifth seed cruised to a 6-2, 6-4 win despite a late wobble to set up a third-round tie against Slovakia’s Rebecca Sramkova who beat Russian teenager Mirra Andreeva 3-6, 6-3, 7-5.

Rybakina led 5-0 in the second set but missed three match points to take it 6-0 and then briefly fell apart as Stearns dragged the set back on serve.

She belatedly got over the line on her fifth match point.

Chinese seventh seed Zheng Qinwen joined Gauff in crashing out, though, beaten 6-4, 6-2 by Ons Jabeur.

Three-time Grand Slam finalist Jabeur claimed her first win against a top-10 opponent since last year’s Madrid Open after struggling with injury.

The Tunisian will next face 2020 Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin.

Jasmine Paolini, last year’s French Open and Wimbledon runner-up, also made a winning start to her campaign with a 6-3, 6-4 victory against Caroline Garcia in the second round.

American sixth seed Jessica Pegula negotiated a tricky second-round match, battling past Elina Svitolina 6-3, 7-6 (7/3), but ninth seed Badosa lost in straight sets to Amanda Anisimova.

Czech youngster Linda Noskova earned a last-16 tie against three-time defending champion Iga Swiatek with a 6-2, 6-3 win over Kazakhstan’s Yulia Putintseva.

Sasikumar Mukund in action for India vs Togo in Davis Cup© X (Twitter)

Former skipper Anand Amritraj finds it “ridiculous” that top Indian players have not turned up to represent India at the Davis Cup, saying that money or any other reason should not be a factor when it comes to playing for the country. India are taking on Togo from Saturday but best-ranked singles player Sumit Nagal and Yuki Bhambri, who is now the country’s best doubles player, did not make themselves available for the World Group I play-off.

Anand, who captained India for five years and enjoyed reasonable success, said for his generation playing for the flag was a different emotion altogether.

“To me, to Vijay, to Ramesh, it was a huge honour to play for the country. Whether you got paid or not, we didn’t get paid. We were just doing it because we enjoyed playing Davis Cup. It was the highlight of our year whether we played South Club in Calcutta, DLTA in Delhi or any place in Chennai or Pune where we played some matches,” Amritraj told PTI in an interview.

“I just don’t understand. You got the other 50 weeks in the year to make money. Especially the money that is involved now is 100 times what we used to get paid.

“It’s ridiculous that people would not play for whatever reason. No matter what, no matter who’s in the federation, no matter who’s captain or whatever, you should definitely play for the country. If you’re good enough (injury-free), you should play. To me, it’s as simple as that.” After a long time, India have got a home tie and a reasonably easy one as Togo do not have formidable players. Their best is not even ranked top-1000. This has sparked a debate about whether India could have experimented by playing youngsters.

Anand, though, said India should always play their best players.

“I honestly feel that we should play the best team possible only because if we win 3-0 then the kids can play. The next generation can play. But I think we should get this match out of the way.

“They (Togo) can’t be too bad, in my opinion. If they beat Latvia and Indonesia and Indonesia has always been reasonably good. I think we should play our best team which is these two boys, Ram and Sasikumar.

“You really don’t want to take any chances or have any regrets later in case somebody gets injured, something happens. In tennis anything can happen. So I think you should definitely play your best team.” Asked if he was aware about the petition filed by Somdev Devvarman and Purav Raja, seeking appointment of an administrator to run AITA, Anand said he did not have much details but was disappointed with the state of Indian tennis. “It really is a mess. There’s always been politics in Indian tennis. That’s part of the problem. It has to be people who genuinely love the game, want to see it get better.” Anand also find it surprising that Sasikumar Mukund and Ramkumar Ramanathan have not been able to crack top-100 as yet.

“I can’t see why our boys don’t. I can understand it with injuries and stuff like that. But other than that, watching the two boys play, our two top players, Sasikumar and Ramkumar, I’m surprised that they’re both not in the top 100, 150. They have the game for it.” “To some extent, there’s some little piece there that’s missing. One is movement. And second is mental. Playing the 30-40, 40-30, break points.

At this level, it comes down to a couple of points. That’s all it does. ” So what should they do? “First, don’t get injured. Number one thing is, you should be able to play 25-30 weeks of the year, solidly, without getting injured.

“It is really a shame that a country like ours, where we’ve had all the greats, from Krishnan to Jaydeep Premjit, then to Vijay and me and Ramesh, and downwards from there, that we’ve gone in the wrong direction.

“We’ve gone in the wrong direction, unfortunately, which is tragic. It’s like Sweden, they’re suffering the same thing. They see Norway, Denmark and Finland having top players, and they don’t have it, which is a shame. And for us, it’s a huge shame. I don’t understand why.” India have also been struggling to put a decent, robust tournament structure in place. It lost the only ATP250 event and if Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Delhi and Karnataka are left out, no other state is hosting a Challenger-level tournament. “My take on it is the fact that instead of having 10 Challengers, if you can get a 250 and five Challengers, I think you’re better off. A mix of both. Only because, a 250 raises the profile of the game, the country gives something to aspire to.” India have six top-100 players and another four between 100-150.

Anand said it’s the singles game that matters.

“That is the number one priority. But it’s sad, how far we’ve fallen in the last even 20 years. I mean, Rohan has played doubles for the last 10 years before that Leander and Mahesh.

“But, in my opinion, doubles is, by the way, it’s something that you play for fun and for money. Tennis is a one-on-one sport.”

Backed by strong preparations over the previous week, including acclimatization, singles and doubles-specific training, and team cohesion building, Team India is confident of delivering a robust performance in their Davis Cup 2025 World Group I Playoffs tie against Togo at the DLTA Complex, New Delhi, on February 1 and 2. Led by captain Rohit Rajpal, a former Davis Cupper and a member of the Indian tennis team at the 1990 Asian Games, Team India consists of five members: the experienced N Sriram Balaji, Ramkumar Ramanathan, and Mukund Sasikumar, and debutants Rithvik Bollipalli and Karan Singh.

“We all got in early. I am grateful to Ashutosh, our coach, our physios, and all the boys. All of us got in early because we wanted to get going, everyone was coming in from different parts of the world. The idea was that we do not let up, we have a good camp through and through, get used to the conditions, to the courts here, be sharp and well prepared,” Rajpal said at the press conference on Thursday as quoted by a press release.

“It is Davis Cup, we do not and should not take anybody lightly. We (India) ourselves have beaten some very, very good teams in the past. We are ready for everything, whatever comes our way,” he added.

Returning to the team is India’s highest-ranked Men’s Singles player Mukund Sasikumar, who says he is already enjoying the team atmosphere here: “I have enjoyed a team atmosphere since I was young. Sometimes the individual tours get too lonely, so I enjoy an ambience like this. I am extremely lucky to be part of the team with such seasoned players and so much to learn from. Each player is important to the team. Even the number six player is equally important in my eyes as the number one. If he does not provide that level of intensity in practice, the number one player cannot practice. For myself, I am part of Team India, and that is the way I look at it.”

Togo, currently ranked 73rd, 35 places below India (38), is on a ten-match winning run that has seen them beat higher-ranked opponents such as Latvia. Led by captain Alisama Agnamba, presiding over a four-member team of globally-based players Padio Isak, Thomas Setodji, Liova Ajavon and M’lapa Akomlo, the rising West African side will be hoping for an upset.

“As a tennis player, you approach every game pretty much the same way. You expect your opponent to compete at the best level. We know India is a tough opponent, but we are very confident that if we compete at our best, the result will go our way,” Agnamba said.

“This group of guys have been playing together since 2022. It is always player against player, and you always expect your player to play the best, and if you have the right attitude, nothing can surprise you,” he added.

Rajpal also underlined All India Tennis Association’s (AITA) plans for creating a Davis Cup-specific programme and talent pipeline for long-term benefits: “As far as our next steps go, we are internally discussing sending the whole team, along with the support staff, all over the world as a group, as many successful nations already do. We are also in discussions with the Rafael Nadal Academy in Spain to create a base for our training for overseas tournaments. We would want to train in the same ecosystem and play continuously at that level during the season. We have also called in the next generation of players to train with us. We want to create a solid pipeline, create a strong system with centres of excellence that can churn out talented players.”

Thomas Setodji, a seasoned Davis Cupper, observed India’s comprehensive preparations for the tie: “We arrived early on Monday morning. Most of the time last year, the team came together three or four days before matches. I think five days is enough to adapt to the conditions. But I was surprised that the Indian players were already here. I saw there were eight players, which I think is very good.”

The Davis Cup 2025 World Group I Playoff tie between India and Togo will be broadcast live on Doordarshan Sports. Meanwhile, fans can witness the action firsthand at the DLTA Complex with free entry.