Aces and winners

It could well be a tribute to Brand Sania. Mahesh Bhupathi, ace tennis player and president of Globosport, the sports management firm that has handled Sania Mirza's career for the last three years, wanted to provide Sania (and other upcoming Indian women players) a chance to play against the world's best on home turf. The result is the Sunfeast Open 2005, a Tier III Women's Tennis Association (WTA) event from September 19-25 in Kolkata with prize money of $170,000.

Bhupathi was keen on Kolkata, where the likes of Vijay Amritraj and Jaideep Lal have played in Davis Cup tournaments. Chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya loved the idea; the West Bengal government, according to tournament director Jaideep Mukherjea, a former tennis player himself, was also keen to transform the image of Kolkata. The rest simply followed.

The Sunfeast Open will be played at the Netaji indoor stadium, which the state government has refurbished at a cost of over Rs 6 crore especially for the event. According to West Bengal's sports minister, Subhash Chakraborty, while one tournament cannot make over a city's image, the government plans to make this an annual event.

"Our intention is to put the name of the metropolis on the map of world tennis," says Chakraborty. The larger endeavour is to use the event to showcase Kolkata, currently in the process of attracting national and international businesses.

Jointly managed by Globosport and the foods division of ITC, Anirban Das Blah, vice president, Globosport, says, "We were looking for a sport that would gain us visibility. We also wanted to nurture a sport that has the potential to grow.

Golf was ruled out since it was too elitist. Tennis is definitely populist. Sania Mirza has been just one individual in the stream of national consciousness in India, and we figured it was the sport with the most potential to encourage other budding tennis players with potential."

Bhupathi concurs. "Women's tennis is India's fastest growing sport with TRP ratings that have soared from a year ago." As Mirza's career organiser, Globosport would like her to gain experience playing several international players to boost her confidence and enhance her talent.

Says Bhupathi, "We invested in Sania and underwrote her training and travel costs for four years. In 2003, when we started with her, we had a lot of doubters, but today, the benefits are there for all to see." Adds Das Blah, "The current market for sports endorsements is Rs 8-10 crore. With this event, we believe that the endorsements can rise to the level of Rs 20-25 crore."

It's the first time a Tier III level event (i.e. with prize money of $170,000) will be held in India. The matches will be broadcast live on Ten Sports for all seven days.

Says Peter Hutton, vice president-programming, Ten Sports, "The promos for this event will be huge. We will have several contests for sports lovers through various TV programmes and we will also look into local tennis clubs in cities so that popular players in countries could get a chance to interact with world class, global players." Already, Ten Sports has tied up with the Disney channel to promote sports quizzes.

The Sunfeast Open 2005 has been able to pull eight of the the top 100 WTA players of the likes of former world number 9 Anastasia Myskina, former world number 17 Karolina Sprem, former world number 19 Tamarine Tanasugarn, world number 21 Elena Likhovtseva,and our own Sania Mirza whose current ranking stands at 35, all of whom are the main attractions of the tournament.

Globosport also manages the careers of other upcoming Indian tennis stars who will be playing in the event such as world number 128 Shikha Uberoi, her sister Neha Uberoi, and Ankita Bhambri.

Currently, 23 stars from 18 countries have confirmed their participation in the tournament. A Tier III tournament typically automatically invites anyone in the top 50 ranked players. The Sunfeast 2005 Open is aiming for a total of 32 stars.

So, for the remaining nine slots, three Indian players will be alloted a "wild card". The other six will have to battle it out during the qualifying matches to be held on September 17 and 18 to earn their slots in the tournament.

Why is Globosport doing this? Bhupathi says, "An international tournament like Sunfeast Open 2005 will provide these rising stars with ample opportunities to compete against some of the best names in women's tennis and make a mark in the global sporting arena."

Will this help Globosport position other stars they are endorsing? Says Jaideep Mukherjea, "They certainly have the platform. Now it will depend on how well the stars play." Could Mirza end up playing the finals? Mukherjea is hopeful. "Given her current form, that is certainly possible. However, my guess is that Myskina might end up playing Likhotseva."

One challenge the organisers face is that a high-profile Tier 1 women's tennis tournament (with prize money of $500,000) will be held on exactly the same dates in Beijing. Says Mukherjea, "The timing is unfortunate. They're much bigger than us."

ITC Foods is footing the bill for the entire event, expected to be in the range of Rs 40 million, including the prize money. Ravi Naware, chief executive, ITC Foods, says, "In a cricket crazy country like India, unfortunately other sports are being continuously neglected and deprived of the limelight they deserve. Sponsoring this tournament reinforces our brand image as a company that is forward-looking and adventurous."

But what does it really mean to have an international tournament of this stature in India ? States Das Blah, "India has always been perceived as a one-sport country; what this will do is showcase India's ability in other sports as well." Bhupathi perceives that it will provide a boost to women's sport.

"Despite living in an egalitarian society, there are still certain social barriers and mindsets that prevent Indian women from taking up tennis as a sport," he says. "This event has the ability to break a lot of stereotypes."

Hemant Malik, vice president, marketing, ITC Foods, concurs: "It will allow Indians to see a new generation of Indian women take on the world's best on their home turf, and will hopefully act as a catalyst in nurturing more tennis stars." Amen.