Bengaluru, Oct 11 (IANS): Heavy rains over the weekend delayed the start of the Rs 2-lakh Pro Circuit 2021 tennis tournament for men and women, organised by Karnataka State Lawn Tennis Association (KSLTA) and All-India Tennis Association (AITA), the main rounds of which were to begin at the KSLTA Tennis Stadium here on Monday.

With more than 100 participants in the fray for eight qualifying spots in both the men's and women's categories, the organisers were unable to finish the qualifying rounds which are now expected to finish by Tuesday, post which the main draw of 32 will begin.

The tournament has attracted over 150 entries. The main draw consists of 32 players with 24 of them earning a direct entry based on their AITA ranking and eight qualifiers. The qualifying rounds are slated for Oct 9 and 10. There would be an open qualifying draw and players can sign in between 12 p.m. and 2 p.m. at KSLTA tennis stadium on Friday.

Former Asian Games medallist and Davis Cupper Vishnu Vardhan, who recently won the Rs 1 Lakh AITA Men's event, leads a pack of some of the top players in the country including Ishaque Eqbal (West Bengal), Rishi Reddy (Karnataka), Yash Yadav (Madhya Pradesh) and KS Siddharth Arya (Tamil Nadu) amongst others. The women's list includes Dedeepya Yeddula (Telangana), Prathiba Prasad Narayan (Karnataka), Avishka Gupta (Telangana), Shilpi Das (Odisha), and Vanshita Pathania (Karnataka) who are all ranked in the top-60.