Parallel women’s domestic circuit alongside men’s Satellites

NEW DELHI, January 25: In an effort to ensure that the parallel domestic circuit is kept alive and provide young girls a second level of competition before entering the big league, the AITA rupee events with points will carry on alongside the men’s Satellite tennis tournaments in India.This was disclosed here today by Delhi Tennis Association (DTA) secretary Anil Khanna, while introducing to newspersons Nirupama Vaidyanathan, who became the first Indian woman to win a Grand Slam match when she upset better rated Italian Gloria Pizzichini in the first round of the Australian Open last week.

Nirupama, who is in the Capital alongwith her parents is looking for a sponsor to cover her costs in travelling to WTA tournaments. In any case, the AITA and the DTA have promised her a sum of Rs 2 lakh each for the current year. They are also expecting the Tamil Nadu Association to chip in with a similar contribution.

Coming back to the women’s domestic events, the prize money will be in Indian currency, and the AITA points system will apply.With regard to the concern expressed about the lean domestic circuit, Khanna said that the Men’s Satellites will have qualifying rounds for which the players will be paid making it just like a domestic tournament.

He added that efforts are on to bring in four WTA events per year into the country. Earlier this month, Khanna had unveiled AITA’s plans to streamline the domestic circuit, bring in more international tournaments, and get a new junior development programme working by the new financial year.