Mumbai, Sep 25 (IANS): Ahead of the highly-anticipated Sixth Season of the Tennis Premier League (TPL), the eight franchises came out all guns blazing at the auctions at Sahara Star, Mumbai on Wednesday. The star-studded evening saw the presence of the tennis icons Leander Paes, Mahesh Bhupathi, and Sania Mirza, who gathered together after many years to promote the sport.
After an intense four rounds of bidding that saw plentiful twists and turns, all the teams assembled highly competitive rosters, featuring a mix of fascinating talent from across the globe.
The 22-year-old Armenian rising star Elina Avanesyan, who will be competing in the tournament for the first time, earned the highest bid of INR 42.20 lakh from Punjab Patriots. Despite facing stiff competition from other teams, the Patriots fought tooth-and-nail to rope in the World No. 47 player in their squad from the Diamond category, showcasing their intent for the title.
The defending champions Bengaluru SG Pipers bought the second-most expensive player of the evening, roping in two-time Grand Slam mixed doubles title-winning Australian Max Purcell for Rs 42 lakh.
Last year's finalists Bengal Wizards, formed a solid squad once again by buying Croatian tennis star Petra Matric, who has won two singles titles on the WTA Tour in her career, at her base price of Rs 35 lakh.
Gujarat Panthers showcased they have closely studied the previous years' auctions and tournaments and made tremendous moves at the auctions. The franchise made the blockbuster move to buy star player Sumit Nagal at his base price of Rs 35 lakh,
Mumbai Eagles spent heavily on bringing in experienced Romanian tennis star Jaqueline Cristian, who made her mark at the Paris Olympics this year. The franchise showcased their intent to fight for the title as they roped in Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan who recently claimed the doubles title at the Hangzhou Open 2024 tennis.
Shrachi Delhi Rarh Tigers went big for Indian veteran star Rohan Bopanna, despite a tough fight from other franchises. Bopanna, who became the oldest player in history to earn World No. 1 ranking after the Men's doubles title win at the 2024 Australian Open, was a huge win for Delhi.
The new franchise on the block, Chennai Smashers, owned by Vipul Bansal of Hi-Tech Pipes and Dharmender Goel of Ganga International School, backed by Bollywood superstar Sonali Bendre made a smart buy for French youngster Hugo Gaston, who has garnered much attention over the years for his unorthodox style of play.