India lose its only ATP 250 tennis tournament

The ATP 250 men's tennis tournament, which had been held in India for thelast 27 years, has been relocated to Hong Kong, which is a significant setback for Indian tennis. The competition, which debuted in New Delhi in 1996, has been hosted in Pune since 2018 under the name Tata Open Maharashtra. Chennai was its home before that for 21 years.
The agreement with the Maharashtra government, the state tennis organisation (MSLTA), and IMG, the rights holder for the tournament, came to an end after the conclusion of the 2023 edition.
It is understood that IMG’s demands were unviable for the host - a million dollar for hosting rights (as against the previous fee of £350,000), $700,000 towards prize money, besides bearing the operating costs, which could be £500,000. On top of it, the television, digital and other commercial rights would rest with IMG.
Needless to say, the idea was a non-starter for MSLTA and the Maharashtra government. “We feel very sad. We did the tournament for five years and the tournament benefited the Indian players. The tournament had also drawn the top players in the world, including Rafael Nadal, Boris Becker, Patrick Rafter, Carlos Moya, Stan Wawrinka, Marin Cilic, and Tim Henman, who played in the first edition with Jonas Bjorkman.