Tennis Premier League back for Season 4 in December

The Tennis Premier League (TPL) is all set to return for its fourth season from December 7 to 11, at the Balewadi Stadium in Pune.

Founded by former national tennis player Kunal Thakkur and actor Mrunal Jain, the TPL is a novel effort at introducing a ‘T20 cricket-type format’ to tennis.

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Tennis Premier League: Teams and format

The Tennis Premier League will feature eight franchises including Pune Jaguars, Mumbai Leon Army, Finecab Hyderabad Strikers, Chennai Stallions, Punjab Tigers, Gujarat Panthers, Delhi Binny’s Brigade, and Bengaluru Spartans, each of which will be supported by a mentor, coach, and nutritionist.

Speaking exclusively to Business of Sports (BOS) via LinkedIn Live, TPL co-founder Kunal Thakkur explained the points system as follows:

“We came up with a 20 point format wherein for example a Mumbai-Delhi match is happening, in this match you will get to see 4, 20-point games. So you will see a women’s singles of 20 points, you see a men’s singles of 20 points, you see a mixed doubles of 20 points and you see a men’s doubles of 20 points."

"So it’s a total 80 points match that two teams play. The best part and the most difficult part is that the entire score gets added…so every point that you play matters.”

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Celebrity & Brand Backing

Besides the on-court action, which will feature India’s top-ranked tennis stars, as well as celebrities including Leander Paes, Sania Mirza, Taapsee Pannu, Rakulpreet Singh, Sonali Bendre, and Aditi Rao Hydari, are backing the league.

Further, the Tennis Premier League will receive sponsorship from brands such as Kotak Mahindra Bank, Marriott Hotel, Croma, Yonex Sunrise, and Noise. Sony will broadcast the league for the fourth straight season.

Speaking about the Tennis Premier League’s four-year journey so far, co-founder Mrunal Jain said:

“The idea was to establish a property first…get the right format, get the right associations, get the right people on board…educate the people, educate the players that this is something which is going to help you boost your career, this is something which is going to make a brand out of you.”

The two co-founders also spoke about supporting grassroots development by providing opportunities to U-14, U-18, and upcoming senior men's and women's players. They highlighted their collaboration with the All-India Tennis Association (AITA), and outlined future plans to expand to new cities, add new teams, and in five years, establish itself "in the top five leagues".

You can watch our full exclusive LinkedIn Live interview with Tennis Premier League co-founders Kunal Thakkur and Mrunal Jain here:

Tennis Premier League Season 4 will be aired on Sony TEN 2 & Sony LIV OTT, starting December 7, 2022