International Premier Tennis League is the right dish for Thai fans

Then came the news that the inaugural International Premier Tennis League would make up for the loss of the Thailand Open or perhaps fare even better. The exhibition event, initiated by Indian doubles expert Mahesh Bhupathi, features four teams consisting of current and former players who will play matches in a league format in Singapore, Bangkok, Mumbai and Dubai from November 28 to December 13.

Each city will be represented by up to 10 players including world No 1 Rafael Nadal, Serena Williams, Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray and Victoria Azarenka, pin-up girl Ana Ivanovic and former world No 1 Caroline Wozniacki. For fans of vintage stuff, the list includes Pete Sampras, Goran Ivanisevic and Pat Rafter to revive old memories.

They will play in 24 best-of-five round-robin matches, consisting of a set each for men’s singles, women’s singles, men’s doubles, mixed doubles and if there is a draw, a legend singles tie-break will be required to decide the match.

Singapore will be the first stop for the tour from November 28-30, then Bangkok will host the next series from 2-4, while the third leg will take place in Dubai from December 7-9 before it concludes in Mumbai from December 11-13.

The exhibition event should suit the needs of Thai fans who crave for big names or familiar faces rather than second-rated players who played a part in the demise of the Thailand Open. Tennis fever came to Thailand with the emergence of Paradorn Srichaphan and exited with the premature end to his career. 

Thai fans could be lured back to tennis courts by only big stars whom they see and hear on TV. Nadal, Djokovic, Murray, Serena or Ivanovic, if they are really coming, will be a mouth-watering experience for fans who would definitely turn out in large numbers. Living legends like Sampras and Martina Hingis should play a significant role in drawing fans in their 30s or 40s judging from the full house at the John McEnroe-Bjorn Borg exhibition at the LTAT National Tennis Centre in 2008. 

The absence of Roger Federer and Maria Sharapova could be a dampener as the two are widely popular in these parts of the world. The two marquee names besides reigning Australian Open champion Li Na were among a few, who reportedly turned down the invitation to join the event. 

The Bangkok leg is on week days, which is not suitable to attract big crowds unlike the Singapore swing, which is on a weekend. If the event is staged within the city, accessible by Skytrain, a huge crowd will turn up for the mid-week event. Since there are no big tennis complexes, it is hard to find an appropriate site that has enough courts to hold several matches and space for a big crowd.

Above all, let’s hope the current political situation will ease before the organisers of the IPTL change their minds. We cannot afford to lose such an eye-catching tennis festival.