The craze for tennis is not unknown in India as the fans go crazy over Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer debate or cheer their lungs out for Indian stalwarts like Leander Paes, Sania Mirza, Mahesh Bhupathi, etc.
So the new edition of thr Tennis Premier League allows the tennis fans from all over the globe to unite and cheer for their favourite players.
Recently Paes spoke about the importance of sports as a tool to unite people who are vividly different people. Sports often brings out the best out of the people.
He also spoke about the TPL and the platform that the event will offer for youngsters trying to make it big as a tennis player.
“I think that tennis in India is at a very interesting position at the moment. You have got a few of us who have just retired. Also, you have got a few youngsters who are really talented. So, they will need some time to come up. I think at the moment we need to have patience with tennis and continue to have tournaments, ” Paes told exclusively to Khel Now ahead of the fourth edition of the event.
He also shared how the AITA (All India Tennis Association has increased events and has helped the young players to feature in more events. This year, AITA (All India Tennis Association) had more tournaments than they have ever had,” the 18-time Grand Slam Doubles winner added.
The TPL is unique as it has four formats in every game with different categories- Men’s Singles, Women’s Singles, Men’s Doubles and Women’s Double. The tournament is made in such a way that the players get to test their different skills.
“I played World Team Tennis (WTT) for Washington Kastles for eight years and I won the world championship six times. So, when you look at the team format, I feel what they say is that when you play for the Mumbai Leon Army, you are pushing the whole state of Maharashtra,” Paes further added on tournament format.
Paes said how he never forgot about India and being Indian even when he won multiple Grand Slams. He believes that Sports can bring people together and therefore he understands what that local flavour can do for a player and a team.
“Whether I won a Grand Slam, whether I won multiple Grand Slams, India was right here (pointing to his heart), always. So, I agree with the concept of moving a community through a sport. Sport does not know religion, language, caste, dialect, and colour. Sports unite people. I think that is a wonderful way to see how the sport is being pushed in our country now to unite people,” Paes signed off.
