Just like his serve, India’s doubles star Mahesh Bhupathi has always aimed big in life too. On court, he may not be a showman as he pursues Grand Slam dreams, but off it, his business ventures are surely top-class.
On Friday, the 38-year-old Bhupathi launched another ambitious project — the much-speculated about International Premier Tennis League in Paris.
The IPTL, a Bhupathi-owned Globosport property, has on board tennis legend Boris Becker as the founding partner with former American player Justin Gimelstob being the co-founder. Former Spanish world no. 1 Carlos Moya is in charge of player recruitment.
In a sport, where fatigue has been the most-debated topic after prize money, the line-up of stars, who have committed to the league comes as a pleasant surprise.
Barring Swiss master Roger Federer and Russian star Maria Sharapova, the who’s who of world tennis have confirmed their participation in the event slated for December 2014 after the end of the ATP/WTA season.
Leading the men’s line-up are Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray, while the women’s star cast has Serena Williams and Victoria Azarenka. Among the legends, Pete Sampras has given the League his nod.
Modeled loosely around the cash-rich Indian Premier League and the 40-year-old World Team Tennis, which never gained popularity, the franchisee-based IPTL will have eight teams in the inaugural edition in 2014 before making it a 10-strong affair the following year.
The event will be held in eight countries across Asia inside a three-week window before Christmas, which is also the off-season on the ATP and WTA calendar.
The franchisee fee is pegged at $12 million for 10 years and the players will be picked up in an auction to be held in January next year.
The players will be in the marquee, A, B and C categories with each team being given a spending capacity of $10 million per season.
The format will be a fast-paced with a no-ad scoring system. Each match will comprise five sets in all with the men’s singles, women’s singles, men’s doubles, mixed doubles and legends singles (men) playing one set each.
The top four teams advance to the semi-finals.
Speaking about the event, Bhupathi, who is playing his last season on the tour said, “We have put together the ingredients to create something exciting that will activate the entire tennis industry.”
Backing the innovative module, world no. 1 Novak Djokovic said, “It’s a revolutionary idea. It will change the image of the sport and help its popularity.”
Over the past five years, IPL style leagues have mushroomed in many sports ranging from international levels to the local scene.
But international tennis, where change is often met with speculation, has embraced the IPTL and like Djokovic says, revolution is an apt word to describe the show.