As ITF reopens door to China, Indian pros stand to benefit

Numerous Indian players plying on the International Tennis Federation (ITF) circuit stand to benefit from the federation’s decision to schedule tournaments in China again after a hiatus owing to the pandemic and the controversial Peng Shuai issue.

The ITF tour, tennis' second rung below the ATP and WTA tours, is set to mark its return to China in June. The ITF last staged a full calendar of events in China in 2019, after which the country turned a no-go zone for tennis due to a combination of Covid and the public disappearance of Peng.

Aside from giving a controlled interview last year and reportedly meeting IOC chief Thomas Bach during the Winter Olympics, the former doubles world No. 1 mysteriously vanished from the public eye after accusing a former high-ranking Chinese official of sexual assault in a social media post in 2021.

It led to widespread global concern around her welfare and the WTA women’s tour cancelling all tournaments in China, one of its biggest markets that also hosted the prestigious WTA Tour Finals. Although there’s been no definite clarity on the whereabouts of Peng, the ITF has chosen to resume its events in China for “providing more opportunities for players to play closer to home,” as its president David Haggerty said in a statement.

That’s precisely where the Indian pros, most of whom currently compete on the ITF circuit, would benefit. Almost throughout the season, China stages a sizeable volume of tournaments—in 2019, it hosted 25 women’s and 15 men’s ITF events—in Asia, within which it is relatively cheaper for Indian players to travel and play. The lack of tournaments in China (and therefore reduced events in Asia) for the last few years meant players looking at Europe or the US to compete, which almost doubles the expenses for an Indian.

“If China opens up, it will be very beneficial for Indian players. It will make it a lot easier for us to travel and play more tournaments around Asia," said Niki Poonacha, the 2019 and 2021 national champion who is part of the ITF Player Panel. “Being part of the panel, I am aware of how hard they have been trying to get tournaments back in China.”

India is currently hosting an ITF men’s $15000 in Chennai, the last of the string of ITF events in the country over the last few months. The 27-year-old Poonacha said ITF’s China return will present a key option for Indian players in charting out their mid-season schedule. “What it does is open up a few more options for players to pick tournaments to play in and get ranking points. It will then see a wider spread of players competing in China, Jakarta, etc, within Asia itself," he said.

"The travel and expenses aspect will surely become a lot better,” said Rutuja Bhosale, the India No. 3 in women’s singles. “China has always been a place where I have competed quite a lot, so it will be amazing to start playing there again.”

Some of India’s top pros have had recent success playing in China. Ankita Raina, the India No. 1 in singles, has two ITF doubles titles in China (2018 Luan and 2016 Zhuhai) while Prajnesh Gunneswaran won the ATP Challenger title in Anning in 2018.

The pre-Covid stack of ITF tournaments in China also provided a springboard for their players to the elite level. At last year’s US Open, four Chinese women entered the singles third round, a record presence from the country in the last 32 of any Grand Slam in the Open Era.

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