Bengaluru, Jan 1 (IANS): The Bengaluru Open is only a month away and the event is set throw open a platform for youngsters to watch some of the top-ranked players in flesh and blood and serve as ball boys and ball girls.

The organising committee of the Bengaluru Open will conduct selection trials for ball boys and ball girls aged between 12 and 16 years. This will be conducted on the lines of international events, which have seen renowned players like Rafal Nadal and Novak Djokovic doing the job of ball boys in their early careers.

Training for the selected ball kids will be conducted over weekends by Santosh Venkataraman, Chief of Umpires, KSLTA.

The Bengaluru Open offers a prize purse of $162,000 with some of the top players who are ranked within 100 on the World ATP ranking taking part. The previous two editions have seen an Indian holding aloft the champion's trophy, namely Sumit Nagal in 2017 and Prajnesh Gunneswaran in 2018.