Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India, 14th August 2026: The International Tennis buzz is now to happen in Chennai again. The WTA 250 event – The Chennai Open the highest ever international level of a Women’s event to be held in India is being held for the second successive year and third time to invigorate and inspire Tennis activity in Tamil Nadu in a strong manner once again.
In his opening remarks, Vijay Amritraj, the Indian sports legend a Padma Bhushan Awardee, well known as a player, promoter, and humanitarian and now President Tamil Nadu Tennis Association said,” “There is no doubt as to the impact of staging major international Sports events in the State and the Country and our own Chennai Open the earlier ATP event and the current WTA event are an outstanding example. Not only the best in the world came to Chennai and everyone knows the exploits of our own players who used the home opportunity to the maximum to move onto the top world stage. Last year too, two Indian girls Sahaja Yamalapali and Shrivalli Bhamdipaty moved into the second round of this event – a first time in 250 event.
As TNTA President since 2018 the Association’s as well as my mandate was to continue a major event in Chennai , my home town so that it inspires everyone – the players the administrators, the coaches, the younger generation – to play Tennis, promote and constantly improve the game in the State and ensure not only the dominance of Tamil Nadu in the game of Tennis for both Men and Women, but also see the State of Tamil Nadu as an international destination for Tourism, Investment and Industry and Chennai as a major international city.
With the strong, initiative, support and blessings of our Hon’ble Chief Minister Thiru C Joseph Vijay who is a keen tennis lover himself, Hon’ble Minister of Sports Development and Public Works, Thiru Aadhav Arjuna , sports friendly Government of Tamil Nadu, Department of Sports and SDAT, I am proud to announce the conduct of the third CHENNAI OPEN WTA 250 INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIP from 2nd to 8th November 2026 at the SDAT Tennis Stadium, Nungambakkam, Chennai. I must acknowledge the efforts of the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) and Octagon in allotting the event to Chennai. A WTA 250 event is returning to India for the third time and the players expected to participate in the event would be amongst the top 100 in the world. I am happy to state that supporter of the event of the last year – Bajaj Finserv, GMR, Fairfax International, CSB Bank, CPCL, ACT, ITC Grand Chola and others are coming forward to support the event once again.
The conduct of such an International Women’s event will fulfil a longstanding need of promoting Women’s Tennis and will encourage more girls in the State to play the great sport of Tennis which will immensely help them in both, education and life.
I would, like to inform this gathering that our Next level program supported by Bajaj Finserv, looks after training fitness and tournament participation and travel of 9 players – 5 girls and 4 boys. The program has been progressing well. Amongst the girls Diya Ramesh who participated at Australian Open and Wimbledon juniors and ranked no 2 in India and Rohit Hari Balaji amongst the boys are doing well.
I am proud to say that since the inception of the stadium in December 1995, TNTA has conducted a major international event of the highest level in India –ATP or WTA – each year barring the two covid affected years.
I am aware that the Government of Tamil Nadu is doing yeoman service to the cause of sports and has great future plans to develop sport for both health of the public and achievement of talented sportspersons. I am confident TN will maintain its status as the top state in the county to promote sports
We are greatly indebted to the support, dynamism and enthusiasm of the Hon’ble Chief Minster, Minister of Sports and Public Works, the Government, the Department of Youth Affairs and Sports Development, and SDAT represented here by the Secretary for Sports Development and Youth Affairs and Member Secretary of SDAT.
This year we are to use the electronic Line Calling technology for the first time on all three match courts. I am sure the sports and tennis loving public of Chennai will turn up to witness the matches in good numbers. I would like to assure each of you that we at TNTA are putting our best foot forward to ensure a great event for the players, for the sponsors, for the public, and for the game
To the press I say a special thank you for support to the game of Tennis for many many years and request your continued support for this mega event.”
Sandeep Nanduri, I.A.S., Secretary to the Government of Tamil Nadu, Department of Sports Development & Youth Affairs, reiterated the Government’s support for sports and the Chennai Open, said, “It is a proud moment for Tamil Nadu to host the WTA 250. I thank the Honourable Chief Minister for his immediate support, including the allocation of ₹10 crore towards the tournament, and the Honourable Sports Minister for his continued push towards strengthening sports in the state and achieving the vision of winning more Olympic medals by 2036. Tamil Nadu’s strong tennis legacy and the Government’s commitment to nurturing sporting talent are further reflected in the establishment of 10 Olympic Centres of Excellence, which will provide advanced training under international and expert coaches.
For the Chennai Open, the SDAT International Tennis Stadium at Nungambakkam will be fully geared up to meet international standards, with the necessary infrastructure upgrades and support being provided. We are happy to partner with the TNTA in bringing this international tournament to Tamil Nadu and look forward to hosting more major sporting events, including an ATP tournament in the future.”
Alastair Garland, Managing Director – Tennis, Octagon, commenting from the USA said, “We are extremely excited to have been given the opportunity to bring India the biggest professional tennis event that exists in the country today. We very much look forward to making our presence felt in Tamil Nadu and India this November. We deeply appreciate the support of our key partners – the Government of Tamil Nadu and the Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu. Octagon looks forward to working closely with the TNTA to make this a memorable event for the athletes, fans and partners.”
While delivering the vote of thanks to the Press, B Venkatasubramanyam, Honorary Secretary, reiterated that TNTA will leave no stone unturned to make this prestigious mega event a memorable one for everyone involved. He thanked the Government, SDAT, for the constant co-operation and support over the years which enabled it bring to Chennai the most prestigious of Tournaments.
About the WTA:
Founded by Billie Jean King in 1973 on the principle of equal opportunity, the WTA is the global leader in women’s professional sports. The WTA is one of the world’s most recognizable and high-profile sports organizations, consisting of more than 1600 players representing approximately 87 nations, all competing to earn WTA rankings points and prestigious tournament titles. The Hologic WTA Tour is annually comprised of around 50 events and four Grand Slams, spanning six continents and nearly 30 countries and regions with a global audience of over 900 million. Further information on the WTA can be found at wtatennis.com
ABOUT OCTAGON:
Octagon is the pre-eminent integrated marketing, creative, and talent management agency in global sports and entertainment. The agency creates distinctive marketing campaigns for some of the largest brands and Fortune 500 companies across the globe and represents more than 900 of the most prominent and influential athletes, talent, and properties in the world. For more than 40 years, Octagon has consistently pushed the boundaries of the industry with ground-breaking marketing campaigns, experiential and hospitality services, industry-leading data, insight, and strategy capabilities, as well as an unmatched talent management portfolio of the most high-profile and successful athletes and personalities.
About SDAT:
The Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu is the official sports organ of the Government of Tamil Nadu. Its role is to promote sports and physical fitness throughout the State, utilizing resources drawn from Government, Sports Associations, sports minded philanthropists, institutions and anyone committed to sports and physical fitness. In this endeavour, the Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu focuses its attention on:
- Providing opportunities for talent identification
- To Develop identified talent to excellence at State, National and International levels
- Bringing in a competition culture throughout the State in order to promote physical fitness, talent identification, competitiveness and brotherhood
- Establishing sports infrastructure and encouraging the same in the private arena to suit a wide range of requirements – from community level sports meets to that of international competitions.
- To develop appropriate coaching methods through coaching clinics, workshops, courses in India and abroad so as to ensure that correct techniques are taught at the learning stage and appropriate techniques towards international performances are in line with research-based advancements abroad
About TNTA:
The Tamil Nadu Tennis Association, as an institution , promotes and administers the game of Tennis in Tamil Nadu. TNTA is recognised as the official body for the game of Tennis in the state by the Tamil Nadu Government, the Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu, Tamil Nadu Olympic Association and the All-India Tennis Association. TNTA was associated with the conduct of the only ATP 250 event held in Southeast Asia for two decades and a WTA 250 in 202 and 2025. Besides, TNTA runs its own Coaching Centres, supports advanced players and conducts premier tennis tournaments for various categories and levels annually over decades – National U18 Clay court championships, 2 JuniorITF events , 1 Men ITF event, AITA and State Ranking events for Men and Women, Seniors, and Wheelchair Tennis.
