It cannot be ignored that doubles specialist Mahesh Bhupathi has fairly planned out his career post-retirement pretty well.
It has been reported due to his new 'job' of managing the affairs of tennis star Andy Murray, that Bhupathi will play an instrumental role in the latest brand International Premier Tennis League which is supposed to be played on home-and-away basis in Asia.
It is well known that after the dashing success of cricket's Indian Premier League, presently in its sixth edition at home, several other sports have been toying with the idea of an international league.
Some of the papers in London had indicated at the new tennis league last week. Mahesh at that time declared that it was untrue. Now it came to light that the high profile league will magnetize superstars from both men's and women's tennis, building it a mixed format. It has been planned that the new league will be played during the off season-- basically in December when the players enjoy their recess. Mahesh disclosed that he had nothing to say on Friday.
Mahesh admitted that there is talk of a league like this but he is not willing to share any information on it as nothing has been finalized. The grapevine reveals that players like Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, Serena Williams and most probably Roger Federer could be included in the new league.
A senior Indian player who opted to be anonymous expressed that the idea is to make tennis enjoyable as well as usher a correct fusion with glamour.
The initial plan was for this league to commence in 2013 but it has been learnt that it will now be postponed to the winter of 2014. To be precise, initially six franchises will have to spend money on the squads. The plan is to arrange a player auction similar to the IPL where prospective franchises can select their top stars.
The financial aspects of the project are not yet clear but it is evident that top tennis players not only earn a lot of prize money but also posses enormous sponsorship deals.
It is pointed that some of the prospective franchisees could be rich businessmen from the Gulf countries. It is anticipated that each franchise will carry a salary range from $3.75 million to $10 million.
Currently the plan is to arrange five sets played in a match consisting of men's singles, women's singles, men's doubles, mixed doubles and a legends singles. The side which wins more games will be announced as the winner. Contrary to the perception, the tennis league will not at all be a breakaway as the contenders will still be part of the men's ATP and women's WTA circuits.
The All India Tennis Association had proclaimed that it would arrange a tennis league. However, the proposal never progressed--thanks to the inertia that the AITA resides in. AITA President Anil Khanna ignored that he had any idea of the proposed international tennis league. The head of the Asian Tennis Federation Anil Khanna elaborated that he is hearing it from them for the first time.
