The fifth season of India’s foremost tennis tournament, the Tennis Premier League (TPL) is all set to begin today, i.e., December 12, 2023, at the Balewadi Stadium in Pune.
The teams vying for the championship are Bengal Wizards, Mumbai Leon Army, Punjab Tigers, Pune Jaguars, Bengaluru SG Mavericks, Delhi Binny’s Brigade, Hyderabad Strikers and Gujarat Panthers.
Several well-known figures, including Leander Paes, Sania Mirza, Sonu Sood, Sonali Bendre, Malaika Arora, Rakul Preet Singh, and Taapsee Pannu, are associated with the teams either as brand ambassadors or co-owners.
Renowned Indian tennis players such as Sumit Nagal have joined Gujarat Panthers after the team spent a lot of money to get the All-India Tennis Association’s (AITA) top-ranked men’s singles player’s services at the auction. In addition to Nagal, two silver medalists from the Asian Games 2022, Ramkumar Ramanathan and Saketh Myneni, will line up for Bengaluru SG Mavericks and Hyderabad Strikers, respectively, in season five of the TPL.
Moreover, Rutuja Bhosale, the gold medalist from the Asian Games 2022, will play for Pune Jaguars, while overseas tennis star Ernests Gulbis, a former world no. 10, will play for Mumbai Leon Army in the upcoming season.
The league’s innovative format is capturing the interest of every tennis fans along with neutral sports fans as well. In the league stage, each franchise will play five matches, and each match will have five games. There will be men’s singles, women’s singles, mixed doubles, women’s doubles and men’s doubles in every match between the two teams.
Every tie between two franchises will result in 80 points, with 20 points awarded for each category. In the league stage, every side will compete for a total of 400 points (80 points x 5 matches).
The teams with the most points at the end of the league stage will advance for the semi-finals, which will be played on December 17, and winners of those knockout games will clash in the epic final on the same day for the coveted cup.
TV and Streaming Details
The six-day event can be enjoyed on India’s top premium sports broadcasting network, Sony Sports Network. Additionally, fans can watch the competition online on the official YouTube channel of TPL.