Saketh Myneni, Prerna Bhambri to play in third edition of Pro Tennis League

Saketh Myneni will be seen in action during the third edition of the Pro Tennis League, which starts on December 21 at the Delhi Lawn Tennis Association (DLTA) Complex.

The 34-year-old Incheon Asian Games medalist and Arjuna awardee was picked up by Team Radiant at the Player auction held at the DLTA last week.

There was intense bidding for Delhi’s 29-year-old women's tennis player Prerna Bhambri, who was also picked up by Team Radiant. Suraj Prabodh, Parv Nage and Arjun Uppal are the other members of Team Radiant.

The official draw for the Pro Tennis League will be held on December 20, with the main tournament to start the following day.

Each franchise has two male and one female professional players in the team. To make the format interesting, each franchise also has one next-generation player and one 35-plus professional player in the squad.

There were as many as 40 players at the Player auction.

India’s Davis Cupper Ramkumar Ramanathan will play for ProVeri Super Smashers. The 27-year-old Ramkumar’s ATP singles ranking in 2018 was 111, but the fiesty Tamil Nadu player has slipped to 185 in the latest rankings.

Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan, 33, will play for the Sapphire Superstars team, while Nikki K Poonacha is the main men’s professional player in the Bangalore Challengers franchise.

Vishnu Vardan was picked up by DMG Crusaders during the Player auction, while N Sriram Balaji will play for Indian Aviators in the third edition of the tennis league.

Arjun Khadhe (Sankara) and Vijay Sundar Prashant (Stag Babolat Yoddas) are among the other key players picked up by their respective franchises for the Pro Tennis League.

The teams: Bangalore Challengers, DMG Crusaders, Indian Aviators, ProVeri Super Smashers, Sankara, Saphire Superstars, Stag Babolat Yoddha and Team Radiant.