TNTA president Vijay Amritraj presenting a memento to Tamil Nadu Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin at a press conference to announce the Chennai Open WTA tournament on Thursday.
| Photo Credit: B. Jothi Ramalingam
The Tamil Nadu Tennis Association (TNTA) and the Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu (SDAT) announced on Thursday that the SDAT tennis stadium in Nungambakkam will host the second edition of the Chennai Open, a WTA 250 event, from October 27 to November 2, marking TNTA’s 100th anniversary.
The first edition was held in 2022. The total prize money is 275094 USD. The singles qualifying and main draws will feature 24 and 32 players respectively, and the doubles main draw 16.
Top-100 players are expected to participate, said TNTA president Vijay Amritraj, speaking after the event.
The Tamil Nadu government has allocated ₹12 crore for the conduct of the tournament. Amritraj said that the money will be distributed across various needs – payment of the license fee to the license-holder Octagon (a global sports management and marketing agency), stadium refurbishment, rain preparedness (rains are forecast for October), and hospitality for the players and spectators.
The tournament takes place just before the WTA Finals (Nov. 1 to 8) and also clashes with the Jiangxi Open in China and the Prudential Hong Kong Tennis Open, which are to be held on the same dates.
Asked if a top-10 player can be expected to participate, he said: “There are WTA rules that are guided by the size of the tournament. So in a 250 (tournament), you could have one player from the top-10, (and that) depends on the appearance money.
“I think Octagon is a good avenue for us as well, because they also represent a lot of players. So, hopefully, I’m expecting some help from them as well.”
On the chances of Indian players getting main draw wild cards, he said: “I think Maaya (Rajeshwaran Revathi) might be the only one who has a real good chance of getting a wild card.”
On whether Chennai will continue to host the tournament every year, he said: “The current arrangement in the contract with Octagon is three years, with the caveat that the government is happy to support it for the next two years. But WTA has only granted us operation for one year, mainly because of the rain issue.”
Published – July 17, 2025 10:50 pm IST
